Daluz and Rama’s complaint
-A A +ASunday, February 3, 2013
THE last time we went to attend one of the 6 p.m. masses held there was for our wedding anniversary in December last year. The Pedro Calungsod Chapel was inaugurated only a few weeks before and while it had the lure considering that its construction was dedicated to a newly sainted Visayan, it is located inside the South Road Property (SRP) where public utility vehicles are not allowed to pass. It wasn’t surprising that only very few of us were there.
I liked what I saw the first time. It’s probably because of the ambience. The chapel is of modernist design and airconditioned. It is so new you’d think you could still smell its fresh paint. There’s no continuous outside wall, only separate giant slabs of irregular height. Because SRP is still on its early stage of development, few structures impede the view of the surrounding plain.
At night, lights from the roadside lampposts and passing vehicles become a feast for one’s eyes. That, plus the cool sea breeze caressing your frame makes for a wondrous feeling. So I decided to bring back my family there last Saturday for the six o’clock mass.
I was pleasantly surprised that the chapel was full. Its parking areas (basement and the front area) were full and the sides of the road fronting the structure were lined with vehicles stretching for some 100 meters. I think the Cebu Archdiocese will eventually increase the number of masses that will be held there. It would be a welcome development, symbolic of the growth of the veneration of St. Pedro Calungsod.
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What Cebu City Councilor Jose Daluz III recently complained about actually echoes what Mayor Michael Rama has been saying about the actions of the City Council. Daluz reminded councilors identified with the Bando Osmena-Pundok Kauswagan (BOPK) that the power to hire job order employees is with the executive department. This after BOPK councilors came up with measures on the hiring.
Days ago, the mayor chided the council for passing an ordinance declaring a moratorium on the demolition of structures of occupants of the city-owned Citicenter commercial complex in Barangay Kamagayan. That ordinance would prevent Rama from proceeding with his announced plans to develop the area. Rama rightly pointed out that the decision to proceed with the demolition comes from him alone.
I find this amusing because it is a reversal of the setup that Malacanang used to suspend Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia. That suspension benefited candidates of the Liberal Party in the province. Garcia was accused of abuse and for usurping the powers of the vice governor at that time, the late Gregorio Sanchez, who was with the LP.
In Cebu City, the reverse is true. Instead, it is the BOPK councilors that has been trying to usurp the power of the mayor and limiting what he can do as chief executive. Incidentally, the council is dominated by the BOPK, whose chief, Rep. Tomas Osmena, is battling Rama for the post of mayor in the May elections. The BOPK is aligned with PNoy’s LP.
By the way, this is symbolic of the characters of local politicians. In the province, Garcia was obviously more aggressive than the vice governor and the Provincial Board because she was the one accused of usurpation of power. In Cebu City, it is Rama who has been complaining, which means that the aggression comes from the BOPK councilors.
Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on February 04, 2013.
Opinion
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