EDITORIAL

Osmeña’s helplessness against Duterte’s tirade

There is a popular saying that you cannot really fight City Hall. And such can aptly apply to the highest post of the land as well because the president vastly holds the entitlement of having the most powerful office in a nation.

So you cannot fight the Palace or the Office of the President. A local government official can be the subject of a complaint before the president’s office because the latter holds a special power to look into any complaint and can impose sanction, which is suspension.

Now, in the wake Duterte’s verbal assault against Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña during the president’s visit to Cebu on Thursday, the latter opted not to react vehemently. The mayor, in his Facebook post, only said the president is entitled to say whatever he wants.

That Osmeña did not hit back at the president the way he would against his local political opponents is a good move. However, that he chose kinder words in his statement on social media only reveals his helplessness against the president’s tirades.

Osmeña should remember that there are several complaints filed against him before the Office of the President. And engaging in a head-on confrontation with Duterte would only complicate things that can lead to his immediate suspension stemming from the complaints filed against him.

Yes, Osmeña has the opportunity to hit back at the president, but such option does not guarantee him success. The best the mayor could do was to keep silent as Duterte took the charge in his harsh verbal offensives.

Opting to engross in a verbal tussle with the president knowing he is bound to lose is a sure political suicide for Osmeña, especially at this time when he is also busy launching his own verbal offensives against the local police leadership and his political opponents.