Time for another personal sacrifice?
It is possible that Rama would still make a greater personal sacrifice by not running for any position, devoting himself to Labella’s campaign instead
Personally, I was caught flat-footed. If I had my way, it would have been better to retain some senior police officers to guide the younger ones.
Thursday last week was a bad day not only for Mayor Tomas Osmeña but also for his political protege-turned-enemy Michael Rama. Rama had chosen the day, after “a week of discernment,” to announce the “political sacrifice” that he has decided to take. So at 7:30 that morning, he called his favorite radio anchor, Eric Siras Manait of dyCM, to disclose that he was dropping his plan to run for Cebu City mayor and support Vice Mayor Edgar Labella instead.
On an ordinary day, the news of Rama’s withdrawal would have been banner headline or at least front page material. But Thursday was far from ordinary, no thanks to President Duterte’s severe public scolding of Osmeña. Thus did the Rama story get buried in the inside pages.
Rama’s penchant for publicity (don’t all politicians have it?) is common knowledge but if he was disappointed by the president’s timing, which diminished his own story, the message more than made up for it. The following day, he said he will pray for Osmeña. It was a backhanded insult, no doubt about it.
Besides, Rama has been trying to be in Duterte’s good graces ever since the president accused him of being a drug protector. He would do anything, including vanishing from the news cycle, to earn the president’s acceptance if absolution is not immediately available.
The question is, can he get it? Will the president’s men in Cebu warm up to the idea of Rama sharing the stage with Labella and, if it is true that he will actively campaign for the vice mayor (the incumbent, not the wannabe), Duterte?
Or should the question be, do they have a choice? Rama may have lost badly in 2016 but he has not been marginalized. He may not have the numbers to win election for mayor but he has enough loyalists who could spell the difference between victory or defeat for a stronger contender. A recent survey done by a UP professor reportedly showed that 19 percent of the respondents would vote for him if the elections were held now. That’s nothing to sneeze at.
Rama and Labella remained good friends even after they both declared that they were running for mayor. It is possible that Rama would still make a greater personal sacrifice by not running for any position, devoting himself to Labella’s campaign instead, but the decision should come from him alone. If they treat him roughly, he could turn out to be their nightmare.
Will the alliance that Mayor Luigi Quisumbing and Rep. Jonas Cortes built together in 2016 hold or is it headed towards a split?
The signs do not seem good for those who hope to see the status quo maintained. The 14 barangay captains identified with Cortes’s camp took their oaths separately from the 13 who are perceived to be pro-Quisumbing. Also, Cortes has been missing in City Hall activities, including Quisumbing’s state of the city address and the Mandaue charter day celebration.
If the split happens, expect the camps of Lollipop Ouano Dizon and Nerissa Soon to play spoilers’ roles.
TALISAY CITY VICE MAYOR ALAN BUCAO, ON THE RELIEF OF THE ENTIRE PERSONNEL OF THE TALISAY CITY POLICE OFFICE