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Thursday, January 29, 2004
Wenceslao: Labella’s predicament
By Bong Wenceslao
Will he run for Cebu City councilor or won’t he? That was the question lawyer Edgardo Labella answered after Mayor Tomas Osmena and the Bando Osmena-Pundok Kauswagan (BO-PK) intensified the pressure for him to say yes. The former councilor finally filed his certificate of candidacy yesterday.
Actually, we do need lawyer-politicians like Labella, although that was what we also said of another lawyer, Manuel Legaspi, when he ran for councilor earlier. I was one of those who thought minds like Legaspi could make a difference in the City Council. But his stint turned out lackadaisical, apparently because of the weird City Hall setup.
With a strongman for a mayor, there is no way that subordinates, even if they are lawyers, could make a difference in governance. The Council is supposed to be a co-equal branch, but its majority cowers when Osmena asserts himself as BO-PK head. No matter how the majority councilors pretend, their being the mayor’s stamp pad shows.
There were times when lawyers like Vice Mayor Michael Rama and Jocelyn Pesquera asserted themselves, but they always stopped where Osmena drew the line. At least they tried. During those rare tug-of-wars, I tried looking around for the other lawyers aside from Rama and Pesquera, but they lost their voice.
It is in this sense that Legaspi won’t be missed after he withdrew his reelection bid.
What he did in the Council can be ably filled by other councilors—after all, it takes no great talent to say amen. And I take it that the decision also lifted a heavy burden on Legaspi’s back. He will return to practice where he can better uphold his dignity.
Now we have Labella. After accepting the BO-PK offer, I am sure he will win. He left the Council years ago without soiling his record during his short stay. So there’s no problem there. The problem is if Osmena wins and resumes his arrogant ways. It is not difficult to predict then where Labella will be headed: the same direction Legaspi went.
Frankly, I respect Labella. I haven’t met him personally but I could sense there is still fire in his belly. But I doubt if he could assert his ideals with a dictator at City Hall limiting his options. He is not combative and I am sure he will end up as another yes-man in the Council, if Osmena wins. That will be the time my respect for him will crumble.
P.S. Text Reax contributor J. Du raised this legitimate question: “What can former graft buster Ed Labella’s reason be for joining Tomas? Ed survived the sinking of the Princess of the Orient. Will he be as blessed when BO-PK sinks?”
On the weird decision of the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal (HRET) in the election protest filed by lawyer Aristotle Batuhan against Rep. Antonio Cuenco, here’s texter Lea Gelbolingo of Basak, Pardo, Cebu City: “Si Totol ang niprotesta, siya na hinuon ang nanikas? Unya si Cuenco wa gyod diay na nanikas?”
Finally, texter Archiebrown lashed at the barangay captains in Cebu City who received money during the visit of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to Cebu: “It’s really sad, very sad, that we have in the city barangay officials who are nothing but glorified prostitutes. How can one now prevent people from selling their votes?”
(e-mail: khanwens@yahoo.com; text: 0927-4912362)
(January 29, 2004 issue)
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