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Monday, December 27, 2004
Mongaya: will Bibit stay?
By Anol Mongaya
TALKS have been circulating that District Collector Billy Bibit will be leaving the Cebu customs bureau for a higher post. However, keen customs observers believe he will still stay owing to his collection performance and the refusal of higher customs officials to give way to the former RAM official.
The inclusion of Bibit’s relatives in a list of smugglers submitted to the Senate, however, shows his sour relationship with some officials in Manila. The Cebu official reportedly blew his top before the customs commissioner during a meeting in Manila. Nevertheless, a source said a former deputy commissioner was responsible for the canard.
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The second flyover along Archbishop Reyes St. should ease the daily heavy traffic in this north Cebu City route. Thanks to the efforts of Rep. Raul del Mar, the project that was financed by his congressional development funds was finished a month ahead of schedule.
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Mandaue City only needs to polish its image especially after the shabu lab controversy and intensify its marketing efforts to be able to attract more investors than Cebu City. This I realized after learning that the City Government had maintained its policy of maintaining low taxes and the publication of a recent PNP report on its low crime volume.
I think media has been extra harsh on Mayor Teddy Ouano after the discovery of the shabu laboratory in Umapad, Mandaue City. This I realized when a recent PNP report on the crime incidence showed that the number of crimes in Mandaue City pales when compared to Cebu City.
Cebu City has maintained its position as number one in Region 7 but we hardly accuse Mayor Tomas Osmeña of even negligence for allowing the situation to worsen.
Mayor Osmeña’s solution to the crime wave is the creation of the Hunters Team, which took no time in carrying out its deadly mission. No talk about the rule of law and due process from even Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal could stop the hunters from eliminating those they accuse of being social scum.
I expect many to applaud the mayor’s move. But soon, I am sure many would begin to question the selection of the targets. Let’s just hope that by then, Tom’s goons have not transformed into an elite clique of trigger-happy thugs.
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A reader could not understand why Provincial Board Member Luigi Quisumbing abstained from voting on Cebu’s 2004 budget after he sponsored the proposal.
In his e-mail sent recently, a certain Jose Enriquez of Cansaga, Consolacion, Cebu said: “Imagine if Quisumbing were a sponsor in a baptism. He would stand as a sponsor, and then, when the priest asks, `Do you abandon Satan and his works...?’ And Quisumbing would say: `I abstain from voting, Father.’” (Superbalita(at)sunstar(dot)com(dot)ph or anolcebu@hotmail.com. 0917-9761193.)
(December 27, 2004 issue)
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