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Thursday, June 02, 2005
Wenceslao: A good time for the opposition
By Bong O. Wenceslao
If the political opposition in Cebu City wants to gain headway in the next local elections, now is the time to lay the foundation. Mayor Tomas Osmeña is continuously churning out enemies that even his allies are shaking their heads. The opposition only has to consolidate its forces and win to its side those put off by the mayor’s bullying ways.
Osmeña’s latest caper, the dismissal of 77 casual employees who are mostly Talisay residents, is not getting the effect he has desired: to make Talisay people angry at their officials and at his nemesis, Rep. Eduardo Gullas.
Instead, Talisaynons are angrier with Osmeña, and many Cebu City residents even find the dismissal of the casuals unfair.
Every bullying act chips something away from the mayor’s image, erodes his respectability, demoralizes even the other officials and members of his administration, and increases the number of people and sectors fed up with such antics. The situation is ripe for harvesting—the only problem is that no leader or group has come out to do it.
Of course, that is what bullies are banking on, that with the fear the bullying ways creates, nobody would be brave enough to stand up and fight. Osmeña apparently hopes that he can continue the bullying this year and ensure that before the opposition can even acquire the guts to consolidate its forces, he can already start mending fences next year.
An example was what he did in his previous term when he bullied the Sto. Niño vendors and demolished their stalls. Months later, he pretended to mellow, allowed the affected vendors to stay in the D. Jakosalem sidewalk, then started winning them over to his side in time for the 2004 polls. Many of the vendors ended up campaigning for him.
The one consolation for the opposition is that the mayor has done worse things now and his respectability is at an all-time low. This while a growing number of people are waiting for leaders to take the cudgels for them. It is therefore the right time for the opposition to map out strategies to harvest the storm from the winds that Osmeña sowed.
E-mail. This one is from Raoul Vecina, ex-classmate of my cousin Nigel Wenceslao at USJ-R: “I read your column since way back when I was still in Cebu and now thorough Sun.Star Online since I am in Canada. Every time you mention Camotes Islands, my interest boils up. I regret not visiting this place before I left the Philippines.
“As an unofficial travel advisor for my airline colleagues at Air Canada, Vancouver International Airport, I am including Camotes in my recommendations using information in the Internet. Many of my airline buddies have been in and out of Cebu (or Visayas) enjoying the beauty of the country and the warmth and friendship of Filipinos.”
(khanwens@yahoo.com/ 0927-2055064)
(June 2, 2005 issue)
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