Editorial - An American in Cebu

Councilor Margot Osmeña has denied telling Jimmy Sieczka to go home to America if he does not like it here in Cebu City. Sieczka, who has been a city resident the past three years, came out with a video showcasing the many things he disliked about Cebu City. 

Osmeña clarified that what she actually said was how come, if Sieczka indeed found Cebu City such a bad place to stay in, he has chosen to stay for three years. Osmeña does have a point since Sieczka himself has made it known he has stayed in Cebu City that long. 

Osmeña went on to say that she would like to believe the reason Sieczka chose to stay is because he must have found other things about Cebu City that are beautiful. Again Osmeña has a point there. 

However, Sieczka is now in much deeper trouble than just a simple verbal reaction from Osmeña. Another Cebu City councilor, Sisinio Andales, has chosen to take the matter further by promising to file a resolution declaring the American a persona non grata.

If the resolution passes, and there is no reason to believe it will not considering that most members of the city council are allies of Andales, then Sieczka is truly in deep trouble and could be deported. Sensing that, he has publicly offered to apologize. 

If Sieczka is offering to apologize in order to avoid the legal complications a persona non grata declaration can cause him, then he better do it now while he still has the time to beat that resolution. 

Everything in the video, though, is true and so common it had to take a foreigner to notice what the locals have taken for granted. This is probably why Mayor Michael Rama and other Cebuanos have chosen to take it as a challenge to address the problems showcased therein. 

Okay, maybe Sieczka should not have uploaded the video and instead sought other means to ventilate his grievances. But then again, he committed no crime. If that was the way he wished to express himself, then the democracy we all invoke guarantees him the right to do so.