GOING home early evening Tuesday took me more than an hour because of the traffic jam. It was then that I received a text message from Bro. Ernest Montecillo informing me that assistant Cebu City prosecutor Patrick Osorio was shot.

Sun.Star’s Karlon Rama also sent a text message telling me that Osorio was already at the operating room of Miller Hospital, which is near to Gochan St., where the prosecutor was waylaid and shot. He died yesterday.

While we are not that close, I know prosecutor Osorio. He is the silent type but is a conscientious prosecutor.

Acting Mayor Mike Rama, what’s going on in our Queen City of the South? We’re no longer safe in our own homes and more so in the streets where cops are rarely visible.

While the police bragged about the low crime rate last year, the Year of the Bull opened with murder incidents. Just recently, two kids were killed while a man hanged himself.

Last Monday at about 7 a.m. I was taken aback by the text message from compañera Femia, informing me that her nephew, Armino Lavador Gica, was shot Saturday night while sleeping with his two sons in their home in Pangdan, Danao City.

The report sent shivers down my spine. The killings reflect the moral degeneration of today’s society. To criminals, life is nada. Summary killings put our justice system in the back seat.

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Politicians are now looking for the “right” political machinery to ride on, as we have only 16 months to go before the May 2010 elections. Sen. Richard Gordon just announced his intention to run for president.

Gordon is the first presidential wannabe to launch an opening salvo here. He chose Cebu City because he is asking Cebu Gov. Gwen Garcia to be his running mate.

Compared with the other presidentiables, Senator Gordon is more than qualified to be the country’s president. His reputation precedes him. He is one of the few politicians I know who has not been charged with corruption.

Olongapo City, the envy of other local government units in the aspect of cleanliness and peace and order, and the Subic Bay Development Authority are testimonials to Gordon’s leadership qualities and skills as administrator.

Gordon choosing Governor Garcia as his running mate is a calculated move, as he hails from the north. Garcia could very well represent the south or the Visayas and Mindanao.

Although Cebu’s first woman governor has kept mum on Gordon’s proposal, there are talks that she is excited about it although she is still weighing her options.

After 2010, the next presidential elections will be in 2016. By that time we will all be seven years older and perhaps traveling around the country will already be taxing.

If the governor ever desires to seek a national elective post, the 2010 polls would be the best time because President Arroyo’s term will end. This is on the assumption that the Constitution will not be amended.

The vice president, although sometimes called a “spare tire” of the president, is only a step away from the country’s top post. In fact, President Arroyo was once a vice president.

There is no doubt that Governor Garcia is a good vice presidential material. Her administration’s success in Cebu province has so far exceeded the expectations of Cebuanos from a woman governor.

However, which is the “right” political party for the Gordon-Garcia (double “G”) tandem? I don’t think the President’s Kampi will spend money for the party’s bets.

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(January 8, 2009 issue)
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