Monday, February 25, 2008 Seares: Fussing over award to Saavedra By Pachico A. Seares News Sense
HAD Capitol spokesman Rory Jon Sepulveda not made noise about supplier Cris Saavedra being in the list of Cebu City Hall awardees, this year’s lineup would have been as drab as any other.
Charter Day awardees have been no more than personal picks of Mayor Tomas Osmeña whose OK is required for each name in the list.
There has been some grumbling, to be sure. One or two brave city officials doubted if there was bigger basis than the awardee’s not having pissed off Tomas.
But dissent is muted and comes from within, not from the enemy some blocks from City Hall.
Rory Jon has cause to be miffed. Cris is “persona non grata” to Capitol, one who accuses CICC builders of graft.
It looks like City Hall is cheering Cris in his whistle-blowing, believing the charges, and sharing his contempt of the persons accused.
Obscene haste
To Capitol officials, the award honors Cris’ obscene haste to conclude fraud solely from cost overrun.
The award was announced without being explained. Mayor Tomas later said why but only after Rory Jon’s whining.
Cris is the sort of awardee who needs a footnote in large print. When editors chose him and Efraim Pelaez, another whistleblower, among the Sun.Star Citizens of 2007, the paper said it honored their speaking out, not the validity of their charges.
Cris’ striking flaw, aside from fractured Bisaya and solid immodesty, is the rush to smear people’s reputation before evidence is examined.
But then an award is the awarder’s sole right. They wouldn’t like Tomas questioning some choices in Capitol’s “Garbo sa Sugbo,” would they?
