THE more I analyze Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmena’s treatment of his cousin, former senator John Henry “Sonny” Osmeña, the more I feel he is being considered a reserve bet for mayor of the Bando Osmeña-Pundok Kauswagan (BOPK). That, or Sonny O knows Tomas’s dark secrets and the mayor does not want these to be exposed in a quarrel.

Before Sonny’s foray into Cebu City’s politics, the ones listed as reserves once the bid for mayor of Vice Mayor Michael Rama falters were Tomas’s sister Minnie and his wife Margot.

Running for a local post, however, would require Minnie to give up her US citizenship, which is a big sacrifice for a jetsetter like her. (So where is Minnie now?)

Sun.Star accepts donations for victims of Typhoon Ondoy

Meanwhile, it looks like Tomas can only allow Margot to run for city councilor and not for mayor. She could still be a good reserve for the top city post but being mayor would require too much of her time so that she will no longer be able to focus on a more important concern, which is to attend to the needs of Tomas, who is sick with cancer.

Tomas’s sister Georgia, on the other hand, has never been a “team player” to start with, thus, most probably she was not considered as a reserve. Her relationship with the mayor is shaky and she reportedly doesn’t see eye-to-eye with Margot.

Besides, she is perceived as close to the Garcias, including Tomas’s pet peeve, Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia.

Enter Sonny O. While it is true that he had issues with the mayor before, Sonny is pragmatic. The same goes with Tomas despite his ruthless image (didn’t he swallow his pride by making amends with Rep. Antonio Cuenco and including his son Ronald in the BOPK slate for councilor?). The two vets can work together, more so if the clan wants it.

That is probably why we still have to hear Tomas’s go all out in attacking Sonny and vice-versa. In the case of Tomas’ “baby,” the South Road Properties (SRP), Sonny merely talked about wanting to get the papers on the mayor’s SRP deals to study it. And instead of him blowing his top, Tomas showed willingness to give Sonny the documents.

If Rama’s rating in BOPK’s in-house survey plummets, I won’t be surprised if Sonny O will replace him as the party’s candidate for mayor. Even this line-up looks possible: Sonny O for mayor, Tomas for vice mayor and Rama as congressional bet for Cebu’s south district (didn’t Sonny say he would pave the way for Tomas becoming mayor again by resigning if both of them win?).

Finally, isn’t politics the art of the possible?

(khanwens@yahoo.com/ my blog: cebuano.wordpress.com)