Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Wenceslao: Osmeña against the world
By Bong O. Wenceslao
Candid Thoughts
WHAT does Talisay and Mandaue cities and the Cebu Province have in common? Two points. First, they share a border with Cebu City (Talisay to the south, Mandaue to the north and Balamban, which is under the Province, to the west). Second, Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña quarreled, for one reason or another, with their officials.
I heard this suggested by a texter in the interaction program of radio dyLA: Is Cebu City our island’s version of Israel? The comparison is far off, but to a certain extent, pwede ra sad. Israel shares borders with countries not necessarily its friends, like Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Egypt. But Osmeña is not a Jew and his neighbors not Arabs.
I remember during the early years of Osmeña’s stint as mayor, he conceived the Big Brother Program that marketed Cebu City as primus inter pares (first among equals) or worse capo di tutti capi (boss among bosses), albeit a benevolent one. “Big Brother,” though, was supposedly in the context of Pepe and Pilar, not of Burma’s military junta.
But “Big Brother” was only good when the other local government units were still lagging behind economically and had not yet found their voice---or when Osmeña could still act like a capo di tutti capi without the other officials complaining. Obviously, times have changed and the dynamism of the other areas has given their officials the swagger.
It must therefore have been a shock to Osmeña that Talisay City, with Eduardo Gullas at its helm as mayor, would dare to stand up and claim that the South Reclamation Project encroached on its territory. Small Brother had learned to argue with Big Brother. That pricked Osmeña’s ego and the Big Brother administered Talisay a spanking.
The same thing happened in the cases of Mandaue and Capitol. Mandaue City Mayor Thadeo Ouano dared to engage Osmeña in a word war while Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia dared to plot a stand independent of Osmeña on the land swap deal. This seeming defiance did not sit well with a Big Brother not used to seeing it from people around him.
My unsolicited advice to Osmeña, then, that is if he ever accepts one, is for him to adjust to the changed circumstance. His Big Brother days are over. His relationship with other local government units should now be based on mutual respect, and consensus building should replace dictation or arm twisting.
(khanwens@yahoo.com/0915-9228651/my blog: cebuano. wordpress.com)
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (February 21, 2007 issue)
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