Another Osmeña in the offing as mayor

The political game that His Honor, Cebu City Mayor Tomas R. Osmeña is covertly making looks like being carefully (meaning clandestinely) aimed at making his sister, mayoralty candidate Georgia Osmeña, win this coming May 2010 polls. He is, to me, trekking on a thin line and thanks to his gift of gab, appears to have succeeded in overcoming the understandable initial suspicion of some concerned parties.

In all his pronouncements, the mayor is saying that his successor is none other than Honorable Vice Mayor Michael Rama. He always sounds like an emcee of a program introducing a guest speaker! His group, the BOPK, according to the mayor, is committed to supporting the candidacy of the incumbent vice mayor and knowing his absolute and total control of the men in that group, he seems convincing. Fine.

Indeed, excepting sanguine relations, and the bigger lure of extending the domination of the Osmeña blood in city politics, there is no plausible reason for the mayor to abandon his subaltern. In all these years, the latter has shown canine (literally and figuratively) devotion to the former. It would be the height of ingratitude for him to turn his back, at any time, to his anointed successor.

True, there were many times in the past when the vice mayor opened his mouth on certain issues affecting the public. Those were understandable because he had to project some kind of leadership, being the number 2 man in the command of the city. To underscore those instances when he had to define a position, he did so without the prior clearance of the boss. It happened that when the mayor did not like the position of the vice, or when he perceived that the stand of the subordinate appeared to get public support, he had to cut the vice mayor down to insignificant pieces. All too often, the vice was rebuked and ultimately publicly ridiculed.

But, he never complained. The vice mayor, in all of those embarrassing incidents and by not saying a word in his defense, allowed his dignity to be tarnished. The depth of his patience must be too profound to fathom. Or it could be his greatest gift to have the capacity to endure.

Thus, the anointment is predictable. The mayor has chosen no one else to offer to the Cebuanos to become the next city mayor.

But, former Mayor Alvin Garcia, was also an obedient follower of Mayor Osmeña. Was he not? The persons close to both would swear to high heavens their enviable bond. When he was city vice mayor, he, without getting to be lapdog, defended the policies of the boss. So, he endorsed him to become our mayor in 1995.

Mayor Osmeña must have learned some lessons in that transition of power. Upon his assumption as the city chief executive, Mayor Garcia, probably realized that the welfare of the city residents could be served in ways different from those of his predecessor. And so, he tried to charter the course of the city administration, in the manner he deemed best. Unfortunately, the former mayor disagreed and so, as history is now written, they parted ways no longer as allies and friends.

To make sure that the incumbent vice mayor would not grow the kind of horns, Mayor Garcia, in the mind of Mayor Osmeña, developed, he always puts Vice Mayor Rama to severe tests of loyalty. So far, the vice has succeeded.

But, it will be safer if the city is placed in the hands of another Osmeña, I mean safer compared to having a different family reign the city. When the younger sister started making her presence felt in the city, she was accompanied by men close to the mayor. They were people who would only act with the blessings of the mayor. To me, this is an indisputable proof that the mayor and sister have some unwritten understanding.

This modus vivendi must not have escaped the sensors of the vice for which reason, he also started to gather people to work for him solely, just in case. Considering however that the mayor has tentacles in every nook of the city, he knows what is happening. If he is not yet doing anything now, it is because the time has not yet arrived. I predict, it will soon.