Malilong: I see separation

IS the Mike Rama-Edgar Labella partnership headed towards a breakup?

Rama said he would be sad if that happens. Labella said he wants to prevent it from happening. Both are interested to run for mayor and while they profess love and respect for each other, neither one appears to be willing to give way to the other.

We interviewed Rama and Labella separately on Frankahay Ta (dyCM 1152 AM) yesterday morning. The former mayor said he is “very determined” to run for mayor again for three reasons: first, he wants to prove that he won but was cheated in the 2016 elections; second, he wants the Cebuanos to vindicate him from allegations that he is involved in the illegal drugs trade; and third, he wants the Cebuanos to again experience his brand of service.

He wants Labella to be his running mate and has not considered anyone else for the position. He is confident that Barug Team Rama allies have remained loyal to him and will support his candidacy and he will thus run even without the support of a national party.

Labella said that while he is inclined to run for the city’s highest elective position, it is still subject to consultations with party leaders. If they decide to field another candidate, he will gladly abide by it. Should they choose him, he will likewise honor their decision.

Rama and Labella first teamed up in 2013 in Rama’s second election for mayor against the tandem of Tommy Osmeña and Joy Young. They both won, Labella by a very slim margin. In 2016, they ran again but while Labella won comfortably, Rama lost.

If Rama could not accept the idea that Osmeña beat him fair and square, it was because he was certain that he would win, owing to the number of barangay captains supporting him and the size of the crowd in his campaign sorties.

So confident was the reelectionist mayor of victory that he publicly announced that Labella was going to be his candidate for mayor in 2019. Unfortunately for him, Osmeña spoiled his plan. Rama had no choice but to readjust his sights. His promise to Labella had no value anymore.

I spoke to Rama last Saturday when he dropped by our table at Casino Espanol from his BCBP meeting. He showed me a clipping of lawyer Cheking Seares’s column that quoted me as saying that it would be foolhardy and idiotic for both him and Labella to race against Osmeña.

You are right, he told me, only one of us should run otherwise it’s going to be a very tough fight. Although he did not specifically mention it, it was clear that when he spoke of “only one,” he was referring to none other than himself. And Labella? He is still eligible for one more term as vice mayor.

There are rumors that Labella is going to issue a very important statement on June 30. Hopefully, by that time, he and Rama shall have agreed on who between them should run for Cebu City mayor. Otherwise, the announcement would be nothing more than a confirmation of the direction that we already see their partnership is headed to: a separation.

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