Councilor Jun Davide: A true public servant

Allow me to salute our good friend, Cebu City Councilor Hilario Davide III on his decision to resign (during last Wednesday’s session) from the Cebu City Council so he can focus on helping campaign for Liberal Party (LP) Presidential candidate Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III. We have already heard all the rumors that he was gunning for the governor’s seat but as of late, he may no longer run for governor of Cebu because that would mean he would lose his focus on pushing for the Noynoy-Mar Roxas tandem and instead he would be pushing for his own candidacy.

Councilor Davide had a very excellent and spotless record in the Cebu City Council and often took on the role of acting Vice-Mayor especially when Mayor Tomas Osmeña had to go on medical leave. Above all, Councilor Davide never figured in any scandal or corruption while serving the people of Cebu. For this, we thank him for serving us with pride and honor. He has indeed added more prestige and honor to the Davide name. He is a true public servant. May his tribe increase.

Now that Jun Jun has officially resigned from his elective post, people are betting that he would be running for governor against Gov. Gwen F. Garcia. But while the opposition pundits want this to happen, we cannot help but agree with former Sen. John “Sonny” Osmeña when he said that Jun Jun doesn’t have a “bailiwick” in the Province. Jun Jun won the highest votes in the North of Cebu City, but then that is of no use to him if he runs for governor. So it is doubtful whether he would run for governor at all.

But certainly, those who voted for him as Cebu City Councilor will vote for the Noynoy-Mar tandem, because this is what Jun Jun Davide resigned, for so he could campaign for them. With the support of the Bando Osmeña-Pundok Kauswagan, you can very well say that the Noynoy-Mar tandem can certainly hope for a big win in Cebu City.

However, this development would mean that for the 2010 Presidential elections, Cebu will no longer be united behind a single candidate the way we did behind the Presidency of Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (GMA). With both Mayor Tomas Osmeña and his estranged cousin Sonny Osmeña backing the Noynoy-Mar tandem, I’m more than certain that Gov. Gwen Garcia and her One Cebu Political Party would be supporting another candidate. As to who this Presidential team is, we will find out soon enough.

Finally, whether they like it or not, the Noynoy-Mar tandem would have to contend with the reality that the Cebu Archdiocese, I reckon this includes the Catholic Bishop’s Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) would not be supporting them as they are supporting the highly controversial Reproductive Health (RH) Bill. His eminence Ricardo Cardinal Vidal has been openly against the RH bill, so any candidate supporting the RH bill would certainly lose the support of the Catholic Church. Now you can say that there is no such thing as a Catholic vote. But I would like to believe that while all Catholics are not bound to follow the Catholic Church on their political decisions, I would still say that the Catholic vote is bigger than the Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) vote anytime.

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Here’s an email from ([email protected]) on the articles we wrote about the LRT-BRT controversy:

“LRT is too noisy for Cebu City which is packed with many universities. Unless they would implement it into a subway or the maglev technology which is very expensive and takes a long time. BRT is more suitable for this city. It is quieter and cheaper and faster to implement. This city needs a fast solution to its worsening traffic.

This city needs to phase out the jeepneys which are dirty, undisciplined and cause much of the traffic because they are low capacity and take so much space. With bus stations Cebuanos will learn to manage time and will learn to walk short distances. This is a good thing for those who have no time to exercise. Because of jeepneys our walking public is too low. And also if jeepneys will be phased out, bicycle lanes may be implemented in the city. Because BRT has a dedicated lane unlike jeepneys, which change lanes as they wish. Jerriel Isidro.”

From this letter, allow me to correct the misimpressions that the BRT would replace the jeepney in Metro Cebu. Also I’d like to point out that the BRT is not an ordinary bus like the Ceres Buses that we see. It is a system wherein there will be elevated Terminals where the buses would “dock” and get their passengers. Hence, it is true, Cebuanos would have to learn to walk to the nearest bus station and alight from the bus station closest to their destination. But it certainly won’t replace jeepneys in places like Urgello or the other secondary streets. That is where the jeepneys would have to go.

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Email: [email protected]