Fight for Cebu City hall supremacy: Tomas to give Rama ‘diarrhea’

CEBU, Philippines - Whether he means it figuratively or literally, former Cebu City mayor and south district congressman Tomas Osmeña yesterday promised they would give incumbent Mayor Michael Rama “diarrhea.”

He said the Bando Osmeña Pundok Kauswagan slate would “fight hard” to win against Team Rama its candidates should not be too sure of themselves even if they are allied with the administration camp.

 “We are going to fight hard and we are going to give him (Rama) diarrhea,” Osmeña said in a press conference after he officially presented BOPK’s lineup.

“Do you realize, if I will not run for mayor, he will not have an opponent? And you realize that if he has no opponent, he will not spend his money. I’ll make him spend every cent he has, believe me. Para malipay gyod ang mga tao,” Osmeña said.

He said Team Rama candidates should not be overconfident that they would win in next year’s elections just because they allegedly have the support of majority of the 80 barangay captains of the city.

“They only have so many barangay officials, that’s not votes. They should not be so cocky,” he said.

Asked on the difference between two parties, Osmeña said it is clearly seen between their candidates for vice mayor.

He said that being an engineer, incumbent City Councilor Nestor Archival, BOPK’s bet for vice mayor, is a “technician” compared to incumbent Vice Mayor Edgardo Labella, who is a lawyer.

“There is a very big contrast between our group and their group. It is defined by showing Labella and Archival. This city does not need lawyers. We need people who can understand the problem of the city,” Osmeña said.

“What is important here is to give the people another choice so that they can compare. I think the difference between him (Archival) and Labella really represents the basic difference of the two groups. Ours is…we are more like technicians. We are managers, we look into (the problem). We don’t look into the laws, on what is the legal basis of that. We are more into management,” he said.

Yesterday, Osmeña officially presented BOPK’s “balanced” slate for the 2016 elections.

For the congressional candidates, BOPK is fielding both incumbent north district Representative Raul del Mar and south district Representative Rodrigo Abellanosa, who are seeking re-election.

BOPK’s candidates for north district councilors are incumbent city councilors Mary Ann de los Santos, Alvin Dizon, Alvin Arcilla, Sisinio Andales and Nida Cabrera, as well as former vice mayor Joy Augustus Young, former Banilad barangay captain Malou Tabar, and Tejero Barangay Councilman Garry Lao.

For the south district, they are incumbent city councilors Margarita Osmeña and Eugenio Gabuya, and Labangon Barangay Captain Victor Buendia, Mambaling Councilwoman Ann Palomo, Randy Navarro, Danny Pacaña, former basketball star and comedian Bonel Balingit, and local radio personality Allan “Goliath” Nacorda.

The official proclamation of the candidates happened after a Mass at the San Pedro Calungsod Shrine in the South Road Properties.

Asked why they held the Mass there, Osmeña said it was for “sentimental value.”

“We usually start off with a Mass. It is not designed for public display or political move. It’s just a tradition where we should start with a reflection on what our responsibilities are as we aspire to be public servants,” he said.

During his homily, Monsignor Roberto Alesna reminded the BOPK candidates not to use their positions to serve their personal interests.

He said many seek positions of authority for various reasons like power, prestige, higher salary, forgetting that there is always one greatness and that is the greatness of service.

Osmeña said BOPK is giving the people an opportunity to choose.

“Our concept of putting this together is one of ba-lance. Just like having a diet, trying to put a balance. It should not be in favor of a particular sector. (Afterall,) we are addressing problems,” he said.

The former mayor said that he is not selecting the candidates based on po-pularity, like in traditional politics.

He said there is no guarantee that popular candidates have the ability to serve once they are elected.

“We here in the BOPK put a priority on the ability. If they are not popular as the others, there’s a remedy for that. We will campaign hard for them because we have something hard to sell,” Osmeña said.

In separate interviews, Balingit and Nacorda said they decided to run for public office because they want to entice the youth to engage in sports, the film industry, and other worthwhile activities so they would not be tempted to use illegal drugs.

“Simple ra kaayo akong gusto nga ang mga batan-on karon dili maguba ang ilang kaugmaon. Atong i-promote ang sports para malayo sila sa ilegal nga drugas,” Balingit said.

Pacaña, a certified public accountant, said he wants to bring change to the city government; Tabar and Vestil want to promote women empowerment; while Lao wants the voice of lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgenders to be heard in the city’s legislative body.

Buendia, on the other hand, said he wants to serve the city by implementing what he adopted in Labangon.

Archival, despite being the perennial number one councilor of the north district, said going against Labella is not easy for him.

“This is a very big challenge for me. But, with the supporters that we have, we are confident that we will win,” he said.  (FREEMAN)