EDITORIAL - Clear choice for BOPK councilors

It is understandable for the BOPK members in the city council to continue being loyal to Tomas Osmeña because they are still under the impression that it was Osmeña who was responsible for their getting elected to the council.

But by noon of June 30, when their new terms shall have started, it should be time for these councilors to rethink their positions. If Osmeña himself lost in the May 13 election, then sustaining the impression that they owe their offices to Osmeña can only be severely flawed.

These BOPK councilors should wake up to the new reality that if Osmeña himself lost, then it could not have been Osmeña who made them win. These councilors should realize that this time the Cebuanos no longer got swayed by the Osmeña name.

If they themselves won in spite of Osmeña, then the only message that can be inferred from their victory is that the Cebuanos themselves were willing to give them a chance to prove themselves worthy of being called Cebu City councilors, instead of being mere Osmeña yes-men.

If these councilors see things in this light, then by the stroke of noon of June 30 they should shed all political colors that have made governance in Cebu City very divisive and start working according to the expectations of the people who voted for them.

If Osmeña himself lost but his councilors won, these councilors should take great pride in the fact that they can no longer be called Osmeña's yes-men. The Cebuanos who voted for them have bestowed on them the honor of being their own men.

If Osmeña himself lost, the myth that Osmeña can make others win has finally been debunked. If Osmeña himself lost, then it is not true that only Osmeña can make people win. The truth has finally been revealed. And it is that it is the Cebuanos themselves who are in charge.

So these councilors who mistake Osmeña as the demigod who can will things to happen have the golden opportunity to prove themselves worthy of the will of the Cebuanos. And they better take heed.

If they don't, the next election is just a short three years away. The time for a new accounting is not very far away. The BOPK councilors better reassess their positions and know that the Cebuanos have spoken. Their choices cannot be any clearer.