EDITORIAL - Was "Bullitt" in the picture?

Rep. Tomas Osmeña has managed to water down the controversy surrounding his two Dodge Chargers by having them repainted. Now the controversy merely involves the propriety, or lack of it, in accepting the vehicles as private donations (he claims sister Minnie paid for them).

Osmeña must have quickly realized that his greater problem was in having the cars painted to look like police cars, complete with an official Cebu City seal. Despite his assertion that there was nothing wrong in that, the quick repainting job proves otherwise.

Now let these controversies take the proper course they want to take. But it might be worthwhile to know what could have driven up the passions of Osmeña over the two Dodge Chargers that he would have them initially made to look like police cars.

Well, Osmeña was born in 1948. That would have made him a young man of 20 in 1968. In 1968, the biggest movie thriller was “Bullitt” starring Steve McQueen. That movie will come to be known in film history has having the greatest car chase of all time.

That car chase was filmed in San Francisco and involved a Ford Mustang and, you guessed it, a Dodge Charger. Of course the cars were unmarked in the movie. Properly marked police cars in movies, more often than not, are intended to spice up the action as wrecks.

But the “Bullitt” car chase involving the Ford Mustang and the Dodge Charger was destined to leave a lasting imprint on anyone who saw the movie, especially to an impressionable young man of 20, like Osmeña.

It is not clear if Osmeña did see that movie. But if he was 20 in 1968, there should be no reason why he didn’t. And assuming he did, there should also be no reason why dreams of driving a Ford Mustang or a Dodge Charger should not last a lifetime.

Now here he is, getting on in age, suddenly coming into possession of not just one but two Dodge Chargers. Certainly it is not far-fetched to assume some old but undying memories of “Bullitt” would suddenly come back to seize a man like Osmeña and make him young again.

But a plain-painted Charger would just be a plain-painted Charger. At least in the movie the police element and aura of authority were evident, though the cars were unmarked. In the here and now, the dream would not be complete without the markings to assert them in your face.