Tuesday, May 08, 2007 Seares: Sugbuak in sheep’s clothing By Pachico A. Seares News Sense
I RAISED the question about Sugbuak when the local opposition publicized last April 1 its platform. Its position on the plan to cut up Cebu into at least four provinces was unclear.
Was it giving up the three bills that House members Clavel Martinez, Sim Kintanar, and Tony Yapha filed to create Cebu North, Cebu South, and Cebu West? Will their surrogates, if they win, not re-file them?
The platform didn’t say. It merely said it will “maintain one Cebu, with the present geographic boundaries as one nation.”
One nation? Gov. Gwen Garcia wondered what they were talking about: Cebu is not a country.
I wrote then: They probably mean to cut up Cebu within—divide the province into several provinces but keep its outer boundaries. By one nation, they must mean one people, four or more provinces, yet a nation of Cebuanos.
News reporters didn’t seek to clarify the issue or the opposition wanted to keep things vague.
Trust its guru Sonny Osmeña to break the mystery. Sonny, who’s a whiz at playing God but unlike God doesn’t speak in parables, the other day said Luigi Quisumbing will work on making Mactan a separate province once LQ wins.
Not in parables
Sonny is credited for concocting Sugbuak to cut down Cebu to a ridiculously sized province, apparently to diminish the turf of Gwen whom he calls “maldita, taray, igat, ug hangol” (only one word cries for translation: “igat” is sexy). Now Sonny makes it clear the Sugbuak plan is alive and well in opposition minds.
The platform hid real intent by talking of keeping boundaries of the province, when actually it only meant outer boundaries, not boundaries within that divide towns and cities.
Why the deception? The opposition must know that Sugbuak sucks to most Cebuano voters. Luigi must know that too.
And here he is being thrown into the jaws of an issue that might rip to pieces his dream of becoming congressman.
