Mayor’s nifty maneuver
HERE we go again. Almost ten years ago, then Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia and then Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña struck a deal to swap properties in order to resolve the socalled 93-1 controversy. 93-1 is the number of the provincial ordinance authorizing the sale of more than 30 hectares of province-owned lots located in Cebu City to their respective occupants.
The terms of the sale were easy on the buyers’ pockets but most of them still defaulted in the payments, prompting the Province to move to recover the properties. Not wanting to see their constituents ejected from their homes, Cebu City officials intervened and negotiated with the province. That was how the first land swap proposal came into being in 2007.
Because the law says so, Garcia and Osmeña sought authority from their respective legislative bodies to consummate the transaction. But while Garcia got hers, Osmeña ran into a concrete block in then vice mayor Michael Rama, who bitterly complained that the terms of the deal were grossly disadvantageous to the city.
Rama’s opposition not only scuttled the deal but also turned Garcia and Osmeña into mortal enemies, their bitter quarrel lasting to this day.
After he defeated Osmeña in 2013, Rama attempted to renew negotiations with the province under his own terms. Gov. Hilario Davide IIII, however, rejected the city’s proposal.
During the election campaign last May, Osmeña and Davide signed an agreement to revisit the land swap proposal. While rich in propaganda value, their agreement did not amount to anything because not only did they lack the requisite consent of their respective legislators, Osmeña was an outsider, having lost the election three years earlier.
After they both won in May, Osmeña and Davider went full throttle to put flesh on the otherwise ineffective agreement. The other day, they finally had a “final” agreement in place.
However, the mayor and the governor have to go through the ritual again of asking the city council and the Provincial Board, respectively, to approve the deal.
It will be a breeze for Davide although some questions may be raised why he agreed to exchange 34.2 hectares of prime land with only 16.4 hectares, some of which are located outside Cebu City. But I’m sure the governor has a ready explanation why the deal looks lopsided at least on paper.
It’s a little tricky for Osmeña, however, considering the current political configuration in the council. Ten years ago, all the members of the city council were his allies, even protégés and still he failed to persuade him to give him authority. Maybe, he did not try hard enough at that time?
How much more improved is his position now in a council that is dominated by Team Rama? Not very much, obviously and Osmeña knows it, too. That is why he signed the contract without even asking for the council’s concurrence. Instead, he is asking – no, threatening - them to ratify what he had agreed with Davide.
It’s a nifty political maneuver, putting him at an advantage and the Rama councilors on the spot. If they refuse to ratify the agreement, Osmeña can cry to the 93-1 lot occupants that the councilors are heartless. If they approve, they’re just following Osmeña’s lead.
As to the threat, I wish Osmeña has not made it because it could only drive the council into rejecting the deal. Or maybe that was the point of the whole exercise?
*** On a personal note, Presidential Assistant for the Visayas Michael Lloyd L. Dino will induct the new officers of the Walk and Talk Friendship Club at the Parklane Hotel tonight. We’re looking forward to hear his message. Congratulations and see you, guys!