Wednesday, April 18, 2007 BOPK woos Lahug voters with relocation pledge By Linette C. Ramos rSun.Star Staff Reporter
WHEN seeking the people’s votes, Cebu City’s reelectionists in the north district prefer to tackle the needs of the sitios and listen to their concerns, instead of the usual novelty songs and dance numbers performed in some sorties.
And the strategy worked for the ruling party Bando Osmeña-Pundok Kauswagan (BO-PK) candidates, whose promise to prevent the eviction of Barangay Lahug residents was met with loud cheers and applause.
Last Monday night, BO-PK held their pulong-pulong in seven sitios in Lahug, considered the bailiwick of opposition mayoralty candidate Mary Ann de los Santos.
De los Santos is the barangay captain of Lahug, where some 1,400 of the 5,000 families who stand to lose the Province-owned lots they are occupying reside.
It was the same crowd that Mayor Tomas Osmeña assured of his support in acquiring the lots for the families, if they give BO-PK their full support in the May 14 elections.
Osmeña assured the residents that he is ready to give the University of the Philippines in the Visayas Cebu College (UPVCC) a relocation site either at the north reclamation area or the South Road Properties (SRP) to prevent the eviction of the residents.
“If you give me your full support in the elections, I’ll also give you my full support but if you’re support is only 10 percent, then I can also give only 10 percent,” he told a cheering crowd in Sitios San Roque Camagong and Avocado in Lahug.
Lahug, the second biggest barangay next to Guadalupe, has a population of 50,000 and a voting population of 28,000.
Some 1,400 families in sitios Salinas Extension, Camagong, NGA, Sto. Niño Tesda, Maracas, Anapog, Brookside Valley, Sudlon Riverside and Bayanihan Sanjercasville face eviction after the aborted land swap agreement between the City Government and Capitol.
In Avocado and San Roque Camagong, more residents face eviction from the UPVCC lots they are occupying. The lot originally belonged to the Province but was turned over to UPVCC for educational use.
“Atong unahon inyong concern, ang possible na demolition sa inyong mga balay. No way! As long as I’m mayor of Cebu, I will not allow it to happen. Kung mangaway sila sa syudad, dili ta muhatag nila ug building permit bisag para sa ilang CR…. Karon magsabot kamo sa Province pero kung walay agreement, we will support you (We’ll take up first your concern, which is the possible demolition of your houses. If they quarrel with the City, we will not give them a building permit even for their comfort rooms. You negotiate with the Province but if there will be no agreement, we will support you),” Osmeña said.
But in a phone interview yesterday, de los Santos said Osmeña should stop deceiving the people in Lahug since the City Government cannot dispose of or swap the SRP pending the resolution of the case questioning the City’s ownership of the SRP.
The Genuine Opposition (GO), she said, has a better chance of delivering Osmeña’s promise to Lahug.
“With Raymond Garcia as vice mayor, he could be the bridge between the occupants and the Province. We have a better chance of talking with the governor than Tomas Osmeña considering that their relationship has soured. With Raymond there, I believe we can go back to the negotiating table and pursue a lot swap,” de los Santos told Sun.Star Cebu.
Raymond, the son of former mayor Alvin Garcia, is challenging the reelection bid of Vice Mayor Michael Rama under the GO party.
“Mayor Osmeña appears before the people and promises beneficiaries of Ordinance 93-1 of acquiring their lots. That’s another deception. He already had the chance but he didn’t deliver,” de los Santos continued.
Even if Lahug is considered an area of the opposition, BO-PK candidates said they are overwhelmed by the support of the residents there.
The audience turnout during the pulong-pulongs is the same in the barangays allied with BO-PK, the councilors said.
While some listened intently to the councilors’ speeches on projects in the barangays and their roles in the City Council, others were eager to wait for the activity to end in Sitio Avocado to see if they will win in the raffle organized by a BO-PK supporter.
Osmeña, Rep. Raul del Mar and all candidates for councilor went to the sitios individually to touch base with the communities and to tell them about the City’s projects and programs in the barangays.
