Thursday, September 28, 2006 Wenceslao: Guv, Tom: parting ways? By Bong O. Wenceslao
THE water issue seems to be testing Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña’s currently civil relation with Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia. There’s actually no problem with their stance on the water deal the Metro Cebu Water District (MCWD) entered into with an Ayala-led consortium. Both are on the same side: against. The trouble is with one peripheral issue.
I am referring to the issue on who has the power to appoint members of the MCWD board. Former governor Pablo Garcia first staked the claim, now it is Gwen’s turn to do the same, saying she will do the appointing once a vacancy in the board exists. Osmeña responded by announcing he will appoint Guv’s brother, Pablo John, to the post.
That is a calculated, if not a wily, move. By appointing to the board somebody from the Capitol, the mayor apparently hopes the governor will be appeased. “He enjoys my full trust and confidence, he enjoys the governor’s trust and confidence,” the mayor said of Pablo John. “But the governor can’t appoint him, so I will appoint him.” There.
The move means Osmeña is momentarily junking being Tomas. By “being Tomas” I mean the combative Osmeña, one that has engaged Rep. Eduardo Gullas and Mayor Thadeo Ouano in a verbal joust. With the governor, instead of hurling insults, the mayor was accommodating even as he held on to his stand of being the appointing power.
Frankly, I do not relish seeing Garcia and Osmeña part ways. We have seen the damage wrought by Osmeña’s quarrel with Gullas; meanwhile, the Osmeña-Ouano verbal exchange has become grating to the ears. Besides, it is always good for Capitol and Cebu City Hall to be united considering geography and their intersecting interests.
But the MCWD issue, I would say, can be considered the biggest test for Garcia and Osmeña. What is complicating it is that Ouano, who is at odds with Osmeña, is a Garcia ally. It is thus possible that the governor will gravitate towards Ouano and alienate Osmeña. The other option is to do a balancing act, which is difficult in the long term.
Anyway, since the conflict, or shall we say difference in opinion, on who has the power to appoint members of the MCWD board has not yet led to a break in Osmeña’s relation with the governor, perhaps a common ground can still be reached. A court case will be protracted and damaging, so why won’t both leaders agree to share the power?
BUSAY WIN. I haven’t seen Busay Barangay Captain Eliodoro “Yody” Sanchez in a long while. Yody was a member of the loose grouping of reporters covering the Capitol beat in the middle ‘90s that we called “Magnificent O.” Thus, I was surprised to receive a text message from him announcing an important achievement of his barangay.
“I just want to inform you,” Yody said, “that the Lupong Tagapamayapa in our barangay was chosen as best by the Department of Interior and Local Government in Cebu and in the entire region. We are now a candidate for the competition in the national level.” With the triumph, I would say Yody is now primed for reelection.
