BUSINESSMAN Jonathan “Atan” Guardo and Lahug Barangay Captain Mary Ann de los Santos are open to run for mayor and vice mayor, respectively, “if there is a clamor” from Cebu City’s residents.

Both still plan to run for Congress, but for now they will be campaigning in each other’s turf “for new politics.” They will also share a platform of governance that includes proposing the creation of a third district composed of the city’s mountain barangays.

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Guardo and de los Santos yesterday launched their “Our City” campaign. Our stands for “opportunity, unity and reform.”

Told about the oppo-sition’s move, Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña challenged Guardo and De los Santos to “run for mayor and vice mayor, sige na please. Tell them the clamoring is from me.”

The next mayor of Cebu City faces the challenge of, among others, making sure the City keeps paying its debt for the South Road Properties, implementing a big-ticket project like the Bus Rapid Transit, and mending strained relations with officials of Cebu Province.

The mayor said that Guardo’s camp is scampering to complete their slate and get the support of national candidates, “because maybe it’s a moneymaking venture.”

Sister

He also criticized the opposition for calling to elevate the standard of campaigning in the city from “petty politics to politics of substance.”

“Debating won’t make things happen, it’s just a way of claiming that you can do things better... Excuse me, but these people need to realize they’re doing nothing but deceiving the people.

Show us something new aside from their semantics,” Osmeña told reporters.

During his news conference, the mayor also brushed aside his sister Georgia’s criticisms on the candidacy of his wife Margot for city councilor.

“Why is she pretending she cares about me? She doesn’t and that’s okay with me but don’t pretend that you care. The whole time I was in Houston (seeking cancer treatment), she never even bothered to text ‘How are you’?... But look at her statements in the papers and listen to her, she’s capitalizing on my sickness,” the mayor said. “Stop pretending already.”

Tomas further said that Georgia has no track record of serving Cebu City, unlike Margot who has been taking care of the City’s programs for children in the last 20 years.

If Guardo does run, he will face a potentially crowded field. Among the mayoral aspirants for 2010 are Vice Mayor Michael Rama, Georgia Osmeña and former senator John Osmeña.

The certificates of candidacy are due later this month.

In her speech, de los Santos said they will “elevate the standards of politicking, from petty politics to a politics of substance.”

Guardo said constituents are tired of “black propaganda, name-calling and negative campaigning, which are all from the mold of traditional politics.”

Plans

He said they will craft a comprehensive development plan for the South Road Properties (SRP) and a business master plan for the city; a sustainable development plan for the information technology and business process outsourcing sector; and investment promotion.

Our Cebu City, he said, will also come up with a responsive health care program, with the Cebu City Medical Center as its centerpiece.

De los Santos said the possibility of running for vice mayor is not prompted by the belief that she will lose against Rachel “Cutie” del Mar in the race for the north district
congressional seat.

“I have the edge over my opponent. That’s why I’m trying to educate the people that we have to change the political landscape of the City of Cebu—that just because they are the sons and daughters of politicians, even if they don’t have the educational background and experience, they are qualified (to run),” she said.

Cutie finished her mass communication course last year under the University of San Jose-Recoletos’ Expanded Tertiary Education Equivalency Accreditation Program (ETEEAP).

Under the ETEEAP, an undergraduate has to take a series of examinations to be administered by an ETEAP-deputized college or university to get a diploma.

Their knowledge, skills, values, work attitudes and relevant work experiences will also be assessed.

Guardo, on the other hand, said he has always considered himself the underdog against whoever the Bando Osmeña Pundok Kauswagan (BOPK) would field against him for the south district congressional seat.

Record

Even if it is Mayor Osmeña who is running against him now, he is confident of his chances of winning this time, after falling short in his first attempt in 2007.

On the other hand, former senator John Henry Osmeña said his cousin Georgia may have “unwittingly” given Guardo and the opposition an issue against Mayor Osmeña, in her criticism on the candidacy of Margot Osmeña announced last Saturday.

Tomas, for his part, said he was surprised when Georgia spoke during the birth anniversary of their father last year and lamented that unlike the time of Serging, the city’s ordinances are no longer implemented strictly.

“How would she know? When my father was mayor, she did not want to come to Cebu... Georgia has no track record of serving the Cebuanos. None, zero, minus one pa,” he added.