The mistakes Sonny O made?

Sonny Osmeña has been in politics for more than half a century now. At 80 plus, the Toledo City mayor has lost some of his physical strength but not his wit. And his sharp tongue.

Sonny was our guest at “Frankahay Ta” on DYCM (11:52 AM, 7:30 to 8:30 a.m.) last Tuesday and he did not disappoint. He referred to a relative as “boang” although he would later explain that their differences concern policy and are political, not personal.

“Never trust anyone” is the advice he would give aspiring politicians. It is a lesson that he has obviously learned from decades of fighting big wars and skirmishes. It’s a message that he’d have engraved in his gravestone, except that there will be no gravestone.

“There will be no wake, no elaborate ceremony when I die,” he told me when we met a few days before his Frankahay Ta appearance. “I want my body wrapped in a native mat and cremated, my ashes poured into the sea.”

It was during this same meeting that I urged him to write an autobiography if only to allow students of history to catch a glimpse of the changing political landscapes in Cebu and in the country. “I already have a title for the book,” he said. “The Mistakes I Made.’ But no, I’m not going to write a book because I would end up hurting some of those who are close to me.”

Sonny was critical of the late Jovito Salonga, un- der whose watch the Senate barred the U.S. from maintaining military bases in the Philippines. Sonny voted to keep the bases and still chafes over their loss, saying that the Chinese wouldn’t have been as bold as they are now if we hadn’t banished the American military camps.

But he has no regrets over his choice to write what probably would be the last chapter of a storied political career in Toledo. A new public market will rise soon, he said, along with a modern coliseum. And the long-delayed reclamation project would finally take off this year.

But is he not worried that environmental activists could throw a monkey wrench into the project? “They’re not even from Toledo,” he smirked. So typically Sonny.

This is a quote that begs to be quoted, if you will excuse the pun:

“... (W)e believe that martial law is an extraordinary power of the Commander in Chief that must be resorted only when warranted by our national security circumstances... Every decision we make and every operation we undertake is anchored on the rule of law and respect for human rights. They can trust their Armed Forces to protect them and advance the people’s interests.”

Thank you, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana!

It was during this same meeting that I urged him to write an autobiography