Is Mayor Rama out of LP?

THE stabbing to death of a father by his 11-year-old daughter in defense of her mother that he attacked may be the first in Cebu. The incident also highlights the law on domestic violence.

For an 11-year-old girl to kill her father is very unfortunate and shocking. But the circumstances that led to the killing may be justifiable and acceptable. The girl’s response to the attack shows that children are intimately closer to their mother than their father.

Testimonies of those who knew the victim revealed that he (may his soul rests in peace) was not an ideal father. Even his relatives described him as a philanderer. This is perhaps the reason why the girl’s mother did not marry him.

Be that as it may, many of us are perhaps still in daze over the idea that an 11-year old girl would have the guts to kill her father.

In a related incident on Tuesday, a son was suspected of violently killing his father, a retired official of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP). Retired C/Insp. Simplicio Nineza was found dead in his room with gunshots in his chest, eye and shoulder.

Police investigators suspected Nineza’s son Glenn, 37, of killing his father allegedly after a fight. Glenn is said to be a drug addict. Of course, Glenn’s case cannot be compared to that of the 11-year-old girl.

What I am trying to portray here is that we are now living in a different world. Values and morality have been thrown into the bin, so to speak. In our days, we always revere and value our parents no matter what they do to us or how they treat us.

With what is happening now, especially to our youths, I would wryly say that our spiritual leaders have failed in their task. Instead of focusing on teaching morality and values to their flock, they are mired in the country’s politics.

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Cebu City Mayor Mike Rama should better prepare for the worst. His fight to keep his place in the Liberal Party (LP) is a jab at the moon. The statement of former senator Ramon Magsaysay, Jr. that the LP will support Rep. Tomas Osmena in the race for mayor of Cebu City race is a done deal.

Even if Mayor Rama is a member of LP and Congressman Tomas is not, LP bigwigs would likely take Tomas in because they believe Tomas will win over Mike and Tomas can finance his own campaign.

Congressman Tomas, the BOPK boss, once said that he does not need a national party for him and his slate to win an election. He even bragged that a national party would need him and his party more than he would need them.

Maybe, as a compromise, LP would declare Cebu City a free zone. But knowing Tomas, I don’t think Cebu City would be a free zone in the May 2013 polls. It would be Tomas and his BOPK as LP bets or none at all.

Consider this set of events. After Mayor Rama publicly said he will file graft charges against Tomas for accepting the donation and keeping the two imported police cars in his home, Magsaysay declared Tomas as LP’s choice for mayor.

Magsaysay’s pronouncement that Tomas is LP’s bet for mayor may be his own but Tomas is not naïve to allow it without the knowledge of LP’s bosses. Magsaysay’s declaration may be too early but it was done to preempt Mayor Rama.

Tomas is clever and a bully. Mayor Rama should have known Tomas better since he was with him in politics for so long. But on the lighter side, if LP would kick Mayor Rama out, he would be the underdog and Cebuanos go for the underdogs.

If this happens, Vice President Jejomar Binay’s UNA (United Nationalist Alliance) would probably be more than pleased to take in Mayor Rama and his slate. After all, turncoatism is the trend in the present political set up.