Tuesday, March 04, 2008 Carlo running will negate One-Cebu concept: Mike Rama
ALL the talk of a “One Cebu” would be for nothing if the province fields two candidates in the Vice Mayors’ League of the Philippines (VMLP) national election next month, Cebu City Vice Mayor Michael Rama said yesterday.
Rama told reporters yesterday that he hopes Mandaue City Vice Mayor Carlo Pontico Fortuna reflect on his plan to run against him for the league’s presidency.
Fortuna, meanwhile, denied a report he was forced into running by Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia. He said the governor merely asked him to consider taking a shot at the post since he has greater chances of winning.
He said the governor believes so because he had been the national president of the Philippine Councilors League (PCL) as compared to Rama who ran for the VMLP post twice but lost.
Fortuna was elected to lead the 16,300-strong PCL in 2006. He said that almost half of them recently got elected as vice mayors and with his good record as PCL president, he is banking on their votes.
Fortuna said the governor also told him that for three terms, the VMLP top post was held by Luzon officials.
“Insult”
Garcia, when asked to comment, got angry and described the report as an insult to Fortuna.
“I will not dignify such a cheap question...taste-less question...Let us give due regard to the person. You are not talking of anybody here. This is Fortuna. He has already served as a national president of PCL. He is a lawyer and well respected by his peers and you are talking about him as though he is a little boy, a carabao nga pugson nato para mag-uma,” the governor said.
In a news conference yesterday, Rama recalled that when Fortuna ran for president of the Philippine Councilors League, none of the Cebu City councilors ran against him so Cebu could have a solid vote.
“There would be a deep reflection and pondering that has to be resorted to because he has to remember when he ran for PCL president, no one from Cebu City ran. We could have insisted if that would be our mentality but we did not do that,” Rama said.
“Karon mura ba ug mu-defy sa principle sa One Cebu. I just can’t see the novelty,” he said.
The Cebu City vice mayor said he and Fortuna could have discussed a possible consensus had the Mandaue official expressed his intention to run earlier.
Rama said he started informing the league’s 1,600 members that he is running as early as last year, and that he also sought Mayor Tomas Osmeña’s support.
Rama and Fortuna both agree that it would be better for Cebu and the Visayas to have only one candidate from the region so there would be a solid vote for the candidate.
But they have not agreed yet how they will determine who the rightful candidate would be and who would concede.
Suggestion
Fortuna suggested that he and Rama find out first who between the two of them has the numbers and the commitment of other regions. From there, he said, they can decide who will run against the vice mayors from Antipolo City and Batac in Ilocos.
“Well, my suggestion would be for Vice Mayor Fortuna to follow what is right. This is the first time two Cebuanos would run against each other in a national league elections,” said Rama, who will be running for the third time.
Fortuna, meanwhile, denied that he has funds to ensure victory in the election saying “it would be an insult to insinuate that the Vice Mayors League can be bought.”
Fortuna said he has the endorsement of Central Visayas vice mayors. VMLP Cebu Chapter president Ace Binghay also endorsed Fortuna, their chapterÆs executive vice president.
Fortuna said that after the endorsements, he went around the region to get the pulse of the vice mayors and got the commitment of most of them. When pressed for numbers, Fortuna said “I’d rather divulge that first to Mike (Rama).”
Rama said he welcomed the proposal to hold the league’s convention and election in Cebu City as this would mean revenues for the City if it hosts some 1,600 vice mayors from all over the country.
But with the possibility that he and Fortuna would both run, it would not be good to have a showdown “in our own backyard,” he said.
Other Capitol officials, meanwhile, said Fortuna’s credentials should speak for his competence.
“Carlo has served in big leagues such as the PCL and has performed well,” said Provincial Board (PB) Member Victor Maambong.
Lawyer Rory Jon Sepulveda, Capitol consultant on information and revenue generation, said the governor threw her support behind Fortuna after hearing of the sentiments of majority of Cebu vice mayors.
Still, Maambong said “Carlo and Rama should come together.”
“Dapat Manila ang kontra, nag-unay naman nuon ang duha ka Cebuano,” said Sepulveda.
Sepulveda also said the issue has been muddled and instead of opposing the alleged meddling on the elections by the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), the issue has veered toward another Capitol and City Hall row.
Meddling
The PB has passed a resolution expressing disappointment over the alleged DILG intervention in the league election. Maambong and PB Member Bea Mercede Calderon also filed separate resolutions condemning the alleged meddling.
DILG 7 Director Pedro Noval has denied the report, which came out after the VMLP-Cebu passed a resolution condemning the agency’s actuations.
Noval also denied that the DILG had a hand in the transfer of the venue. He said it was a league decision during an executive board meeting in February in Ormoc.
Binghay said the provincial league was asked to waive its privilege to host the election because of the two candidates from Cebu. He said that even if they did not waive the privilege, the venue was still transferred for the “shallow” reason that two Cebu officials were running for the top league post.
Binghay said that if the league wanted a neutral venue for the convention and election, they should have chosen Mindanao, which does not have a candidate. (LCR/JGA/OCP/GMD)
