Cebu City politics

We’re only less than a year before our democratic processes would be tested again in the May 2019 midterm elections. For some political fanatics out there, discussing electoral prospects is always an interesting exercise. For now, the more compelling would be the political setup in Cebu City. Let us focus on it before we shift to politics in the province.

Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña and the Bando Osmeña-Pundok Kauswagan (BOPK) just scored a major victory in the recent barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections. BOPK allies are now in control of the SK Federation in the city, having helped win (just admit it, I say) majority of its bets for SK chairpersons. It is poised to control also the Association of Barangay Councils (ABC) in the city, having helped win (again, admit it) majority of its bets for barangay captain.

That means a shift in the balance of power at the barangay level, which was once dominated by the opposition Barug Team Rama (now an ally of President Duterte’s PDP-Laban). But the BOPK control there is not decisive because it does not necessarily follow that those who voted for BOPK or Barug Team Rama bets at that level would automatically go for the BOPK or Barug bets in the city. Besides, the number of voters per barangay varies.

What the barangay and SK elections actually did was give the chance to the two contending parties to strengthen their grassroots organization. The leaders of the two parties will still be there next year whether they won or lost in the elections. The problem is when one party starts raiding the leaders of the other party in the

barangays, which is not a long shot. Can either BOPK or Barug hold on to their leaders?

Osmeña and the BOPK can primarily do the raiding as they have the most to offer compared with Barug because they control City Hall, especially with their ascent in the barangay and SK polls. They are even now poised to regain control of the city council with the entry of ex-officio members representing the ABC and SK federation.

All these developments would definitely have an impact on the 2019 elections. Barug may not admit it, but having the majority of the barangay captains and the majority in the city council is an advantage especially in terms of the use of government resources for partisan politicking. Because Barug lost it, it has thus been disadvantaged.

Worse is the possible breakup of Barug unity with the insistence of former mayor Michael Rama to run for mayor next year. I talked with some barangay leaders and I have a feeling Rama still has a hold on the Barug organization even if his political stock has dwindled considerably because of the President’s claim that he is a narco protector.

Rama and Vice Mayor Edgardo Labella running for mayor against Osmeña would be the ultimate political suicide. On this, I think Presidential Assistant for the Visayas Michael Dino can exert his influence on behalf of the president. But can presidential influence trump political ambition resulting in the opposition having a unified slate?

We don’t know. So, as the Tagalogs would say,

abangan ang mga susunod na kabanata.