IS the opposition having an internal conflict over their mayoral candidate for the 2019 elections?
Former Cebu City mayor Michael Rama belied the reports and stood pat that he and Vice Mayor Edgardo Labella remain on amicable terms.
“Communication between me and Edgar has always been open to discuss as one Barug (Team Rama). The head of Barug is Mike Rama and the head of PDP-Laban (Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan) is Edgar, and Edgar is part of Team Rama. Therefore, we can always be one with Barug as the umbrella. We have been discussing things as one big family,” Rama said in a phone interview.
Labella said he is open to the mayorship after taking his oath as president of PDP-Laban Cebu City Chapter before House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez last January.
Rama, on the other hand, has been vocal about running again after losing to Mayor Tomas Osmeña in the May 2016 elections.
Opposition Councilor Joel Garganera shared Rama’s sentiment and denied the reported rift.
“There’s no conflict, but there will be only one mayor. There’s constant communication between them, but there will only be one candidate for sure,” he told reporters.
But for Mayor Osmeña, Rama would be a “better contender” for the position than Labella.
“They both have their advantages. I think Labella has greater appeal than Rama. It depends on what you’re looking at. For me, it’s hard to win without a base and Labella does not have one, but Rama has. Rama has a very big base in Barangay Basak San Nicolas, which has around 20,000 voters. Barangay Mabolo (for Labella), only has half of what Rama has,” Osmeña said.
He added that several councilors and barangay officials remain committed to Rama, which may help the latter in his bid.
SunStar Cebu tried to reach Labella, but he was not available as of press time.
Rama, though, is unfazed by Osmeña’s statement.
“I don’t have to say, ‘Thank you, Samot (Tomas) for considering me better than Edgar’ because I don’t even look at him (Osmeña) as a worthy opponent anymore. He is a dirty, old politician,” Rama said.
Meanwhile, Osmeña admitted that some Bando Osmeña Pundok Kauwswagan councilors are wooing opposition-allied elected barangay captains to jump ship.
“Of course, why not? It’s very simple, if you want projects to go to your barangay, you work with me. If not, you find your own projects. You let (Presidential Assistant for the Visayas Michael) Dino give it to you, including the Sangguniang Kabataan,” he said.
The mayor, though, said he will keep his doors open for anyone who wishes to defect from the opposition.
For Garganera, Osmeña’s statement shows “no respect and (is) a threat” to the barangays. (RTF)