Saturday, October 20, 2007 Tomas campaigns v. Mary Ann in press statements and flyers By Nancy R. Cudis Sun.Star Staff Reporter
AS THE campaign for the Oct. 29 elections officially started yesterday, Cebu City Tomas Osmeña continued to stay mum about the candidates he and the Bando Osmeña-Pundok Kauswagan (BO-PK) want to support.
“I don’t really intend to interfere in the elections. I don’t want to use my influence (as city mayor) because I don’t want to deprive the people of making the choices they want,” he said.
At the same time, however, he also started sending out fliers to property owners in Barangay Lahug, explaining the assistance City Hall has extended to the area.
The yellow fliers, he said, are his report to the taxpayers.
“It’s not political propaganda. This is in response to her (Barangay Captain Mary Ann de los Santos’) allegations that I didn’t do anything for Lahug. It’s not fair to say that I’ve deprived the people there of the basic services,” said Osmeña.
De los Santos challenged Osmeña in the May 14 mayoral elections and lost by some 100,000 votes, but won in her barangay.
This week, she objected to the mayor’s endorsement of a recommendation to declare some large taxpayers as part of the territory of Lahug’s neighboring barangays.
The flier lists the services given to Lahug during Osmeña’s terms, such as road repairs and the construction of school buildings and artesian wells, among others.
Osmeña earlier asked the Cebu City Council to approve the recommendation to place the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino and the Grand Convention Center under the jurisdiction of Barangay Luz, not Lahug.
He reasoned out that Barangay Luz is managing the traffic and garbage problems of these establishments.
The Cebu City Planning and Development Office has conducted a survey that showed Barangay Luz is collecting the garbage from 12 establishments, out of 15 respondents, along one side of Archbishop Reyes Ave.
“Lahug is not Cebu City. It’s as simple as that. Other neighboring barangays don’t have major sources of income. What I’m doing is fair for everyone. So what does she deserve? Nothing,” the mayor said in his press conference.
‘Antics’
De los Santos, however, described that endorsement as a sign of political harassment and vendetta.
“That is not fair. We have been delivering services to our people. He is overstepping his bounds again. Barangay captains and mayors come and go, but lands endure.
They just can’t change because of some political antics,” she told Sun.Star Cebu.
De los Santos said she would go to court to protect Lahug, if that is her “last option.”
She asked the mayor not to circumvent the law and look up the proper process of resolving boundary disputes. She also reacted to the fliers being distributed in her area.
“Why send them out now when I am running again for barangay captain of Lahug? This only shows that it’s not true he won’t meddle in the upcoming barangay elections.
He’s dipping his fingers now in Lahug,” she said.
She added that whatever basic services City Hall gave her barangay, these were not coursed through her office.
Several BO-PK allies from Barangays Tejero and Kamputhaw visited the mayor’s office yesterday, supposedly to ask for his blessing.
“It is the blessing of the people that is important. As a matter of fact, as far as BO-PK is concerned, we are losing some barangays because (constituents) are running against each other. In some areas, there are even three to five candidates associated with BO-PK who are rivals,” Osmeña said.
While he expressed interest in the election, the mayor said he has decided to exercise restraint.
The Omnibus Election Code states that barangay elections are supposed to be “non-partisan” and “conducted in an expeditious and inexpensive manner.”
