BOPK bets confident of winning

CEBU City Mayor Mike Rama should be reminded that he does not belong to Liberal Party (LP), the party in power. He can rant all day but that would not do him any good as President Noy Aquino would never grant his requests.

Mayor Rama, after he was kicked out of the LP in favor of Rep. Tomas Osmeña, joined the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) of Vice President Jejomar Binay and former president Joseph Estrada.

It was therefore naïve for Mayor Rama to say that politics had nothing to do with the non-appointments of Senior Supt. Noli Romana, his choice to replace Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) chief Ramon Buenafe, and Emma Villarete as city treasurer.

Was Mayor Rama scared of further retaliation from the LP camp or the administration if he points a finger at the Aquino administration for the hard time he is into?

Undoubtedly, he now realizes the big difference in his exercise of his prerogatives when he was still aligned with President Aquino and now that he is with the opposition.

There is only one person to blame for the situation that Mayor Rama is in and that is Congressman Tomas. He is cunning and he also has the right connection with the people in power. Remember, he is an Osmeña.

Instead of ranting, Mayor Rama should start working. What I mean by work is that Rama should start campaigning now, like what everyone has been doing, if he wants to win against Osmeña.

This is the second time that Rama will run against an Osmeña. In the 2010 polls, Rama won against Georgia Osmeña, younger sister of Tomas, and former senator Sonny Osmeña, cousin of Tomas.

The difference though is that Rama ran in 2010 under the Bando Osmeña-Pundok Kauswagan (BOPK), the party of Tomas. This time, Rama is an outsider of BOPK and is running under UNA. It will also be a one-on-one race for mayor between him and Tomas.

Rama’s rift with Osmeña was caused by the latter’s acerbic criticism of him after his 100 days in office in 2010. Congressman Tomas described Rama’s performance as “incomplete.”

Tomas’s prediction in 2010 that Rama would be running under a different group or party came true. Tomas then swore that BOPK will not support Rama’s reelection bid if he does not change his management style.

Congressman Tomas was slighted when Rama did not invite him when he conducted the mass oath-taking of the new officials of the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) and the barangays. He also disliked Rama for accommodating elected officials from the opposition.

Mayor Rama pulled the trigger by resigning from the BOPK instead of him being fired first. Rama’s insistence that he is a member of good standing of the LP only fell on deaf ears of LP president Mar Roxas.

Mayor Rama and his team are considered the underdog in the May 13 elections against Tomas and his BOPK bets. Rumors have it that Rama lacks funds to bankroll his campaign compared with the well-oiled BOPK of Tomas.

Some businessmen are allegedly reluctant to give support to Rama’s re-election bid because Tomas is known for vindictiveness. Besides, these businessmen are not sure if Rama and his team would win against Tomas and his BOPK bets.

The big question that hangs in the balance is this: Will Mayor Rama and his team win against Tomas and his BOPK candidates? The BOPK camp is overly confident they will win the May polls, but that remains to be seen until the elections are over.

(elespinoza53@yahoo.com)