Letter from a foreigner

SOME foreigners were here in Cebu to observe the conduct of the May 13 elections. I received an email from one of these foreign observers and here's what he wrote prior to election day:

“Greetings, Mr. Bobby Nalzaro.

“My name is Wolfgang Bonnen. I am a German citizen. It was my wish to be given a chance to witness your local elections and I was granted this by our international organization.

“I brought a copy of your local newspaper and found your e-mail address. I used this as a chance to open to you my very honest opinion about your local elections and your political candidates.

“To start with, (Rep.) Tommy Osmeña's goal is to make Cebu City a center of trade and industry through good governance and leadership. He wants to create a livable and decent environment for all Cebuanos and to prepare them for the constant changes in the marketplace.

“Our general conclusion: He is honest, direct, knows his goal and is a very good leader. He sounds and looks arrogant but is a powerful leader, a results-oriented individual.

“(Cebu City Mayor) Mike Rama reserved too much budget for the media. He wants publicity and appears to be like an actor and entertainer who dances on the streets and performs on stage. He presents himself to be for the masses

I think nobody briefed Mr. Bonnen about the real score in local politics during his short staye here

and for God. He always shows himself to be participating in daily masses etc.

“He emotes pretense in order to win the people's votes. He does not have his own idea and needs coaching. He is a puppet of his ambition for fame and fortune and has childish longings. He is very dangerous and the masses will surely regret if they later find out that Mike Rama is a false person. Cebuanos will then blame the media, which proudly endorsed Mike Rama for the

position.

“Mr. Hilario Davide III is a very straight person. He is shy but has strong determination. God save him. As for (Acting Gov.) Agnes Magpale, she must win. She is the mother for the people. She is honest.

“The Garcias? Forget them all. We saw the actual personalities of the real Garcias. And more power to your goodhearted President Aquino and his perfect choices of good leaders under his Liberal Party (LP).

“Mr. Bobby, I hope Cebu will choose a leader and not a pseudo (pretentious) entertainer. We saw how they shower the voters with millions of pesos in money during the election. Why did they not share the money to the victims of calamities? We who are here abroad can only take a deep breath and pray that one day Filipinos will find out the truth why President Aquino is fighting corruption.”

Well, that is Mr. Bonnen's opinion and observations. I think nobody briefed him about the real score in local politics during his short stay here during the elections. Mr. Bonnen criticized the media for supposedly endorsing Rama.

He was wrong. The media did not endorse Rama. Rama is just too accessible for media interviews. But we cannot blame Mr. Bonnen if he thinks another way. Opinion is subjective. His email address is mcm-unger@web.de