Councilors may sue mayor over use of ‘vulgar’ hashtag on FB post

Councilor Jocelyn Pesquera finds the hashtag insulting to women, which is why she’s considering going to court Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña says sorry, but adds the post was made without his permission and later removed

A hashtag that appeared in a post on Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña’s Facebook page may compel some opposition councilors to sue him. The hashtag used a Cebuano term for a woman’s genitals in describing the opposition party. But the mayor said he had not approved the post.

Barug Team Rama councilors are planning to file a complaint against Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña over what they described as a vulgar hashtag used in one of his Facebook posts.

Osmeña apologized for the post and ordered to have it removed.

Councilor Jocelyn Pesquera, the only female councilor in the opposition, said that what Osmeña wrote and his use of “gutter language” as a hashtag last Monday was an insult to all women.

“That’s discrimination. Unsa man iyang tan-aw sa mga babaye baho na lang gyod (What does he think of women)? It’s really below the belt, literally and figuratively,” she told reporters.

Osmeña’s post talked about the City’s effort to solve the foul smell in Inayawan Sanitary Landfill and how the opposition tried to block it with the hashtag, #TeamRamaBahogB__at.

Councilor Pastor Alcover Jr. said that what the mayor posted was uncalled for, considering that he is educated and the “father of the city.”

“Bastos gyod na iyang gihimo coming from an executive. Duna’y issues na discuss nga legitimate kaayo unya himoan niya og tubag nga binastos (It is a legitimate issue and yet he answered rudely),” he said.

In his news conference yesterday, Osmeña said he was not aware of the post and that the status was posted on Facebook without his consent.

“No. I did not put it there. Some people administered it, I will have it withdrawn, with my apologies. I don’t know, I did not put it there myself,” he told reporters.

Osmeña said he will scold the one who posted it.

With too much on his hands, Osmeña said he cannot monitor everything, particularly since he tries to address every complaint he receives through text messages every day.

Just yesterday morning, more than a hundred text messages were already pending on his mobile phone, he pointed out.

Asked if he is being consulted whenever a status is posted on his account, Osmeña said “they” consult him from time to time.

Pesquera, however, said Osmeña should take responsibility for his post since it was seen on his verified Facebook account.

“When your account is verified, it means you are responsible for what would come out, whether it was typed by his son, by another person, or by his staff,” she said.

That’s discrimination. Unsa man iyang tan-aw sa mga babaye baho na lang gyod (What does he think of women)? It’s really below the belt, literally and figuratively. CEBU CITY COUNCILOR JOCELYN PESQUERA