Tuesday, April 29, 2008 Seares: ‘Over my dead body’ By Pachico A. Seares News Sense
WHAT do differences of opinion among local leaders on how to re-district Cebu towns and cities and create new districts tell us so far?
Check out the strong objections.
Rep. Red Durano (5th district) doesn’t want to give up Liloan that Rep. Nerry Ruiz (6th district) plans to merge with Lapu-Lapu City and Cordova for a new district.
Capitol will resist the proposal to take Cordova from the Province and merge it with city coastal towns for a new district that Mayor Tomas Osmeña suggests for Cebu City.
Rep. Eddie Gullas doesn’t agree with the idea of taking Sibonga from his first district for a new district that lumps it with some second district towns.
Opposition has a common thread: one’s turf shall not be diminished to benefit another’s domain.
Durano must be seeing red over the idea to slice off Liloan from his district. A usually placid Eddiegul became agitated enough to declare, Over my dead body! Gov. Gwen Garcia, through her Tomas-busters, said in effect, Ano ka, Mayor Tomas? Sinusuwerte? Capitol is ready for a damn-the-torpedoes assault against annexing Cordova to Cebu City.
Option
Signals from turf lords are clear enough: Create new districts within your territory, if you will, but leave our own domain alone.
An option offered by Rep. Tony Cuenco of Cebu City south is to redistrict 80 barangays within the city and create a third district composed of areas from both north and south.
With the keep-your-hands-off-my-district policy of local leaders, Cebu City’s political bosses can work only with what they have, not with what they can only lust for.
