Wednesday, October 08, 2008 Wenceslao: Can BO-PK survive? By Bong O. Wenceslao Candid Thoughts
HIS statements on his illness were both combative and defiant. But Mayor Tomas Osmeña is Tomas Osmeña. So when he admitted he may have cancer of the bladder, the suspicion subject to further medical tests in the United States, he laced that with comments like, “I don’t think I’m going to die before 2010. I’m too stubborn for that.” Typical Tomas.
In a way, the mayor’s frank admission of the nature of his illness and of his acting like the typical Tomas in Monday’s press con may have done more to ease the worries of many of his constituents than the careful answers of his wife, Margot. The mayor, unlike Margot, did not mince words, laid his cards clearly on the table and sounded unfazed.
Being verbally combative and defiant is one thing, however, and physically battling what could be an insidious illness is another. If it’s the Big C, it breaks your resolve step by painful step. I have observed that closely in the case of my mother-in-law, who succumbed to cancer of the lungs last year. The slide was hard to bear.
That’s why I could not explain what I felt when the kind of illness that afflicted the mayor was divulged. I may have been an Osmeña critic, but I do feel genuinely sorry for him. This is not about being “politically correct” like what the mayor thinks his other critics are doing. For all his perceived faults, Tom O is still a brother human being.
What should be unfortunate for the mayor, that is, if his illness turns out to be more serious than what people are being made to believe, is that his health condition has become a burden at an inappropriate time. City Hall is in the midst of talks over the first compelling offer for South Road Property (SRP) lots. The 2010 polls are not far away.
I don’t actually see much of a problem even if Osmeña is not around to supervise the disposal of SRP lots. I have always believed that the mayor’s stranglehold over any development plan for the area limits its economic viability. The SRP should be turned over to a more knowledgeable and less politically distracted collective as administrator.
The mayor’s absence, especially if it becomes protracted, would be more debilitating to the Bando Osmeña-Pundok Kauswagan (BO-PK). The BO-PK, as we now know, is not a political party but an “idea” Osmeña “put together,” which means that if the man who hatched the BO-PK idea is not around, the “idea” (or “party”) vanishes.
To put it in another way, BO-PK is Tomas Osmeña. Without him, that group is but a composite of clashing egos and conflicting vested interests. I don’t see anybody in the BO-PK that can lead the organization without it breaking into factions. Not even Mike Rama, or Gerry Carillo, or okay, Jun Pe. That’s how Tomas-reliant the “party” is.
What compounds the problem is the strong challenge expected to be put up by the political opposition in the city in 2010.
Even if Osmeña is no longer eligible to run for mayor by then, he is needed not only as a unifying presence but as a political strategist and fund raiser. A political group could not go into battle without its main man around.
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This one is from lawyer Manuel Iway: “I cannot find enough words to express my gratitude for the kind words in your column. Before I read it, I entertained thoughts of never filing a petition for fare reduction again. I had to pay for the filing and publication fees, drivers and operators staged protests outside my office, I was called rude names, I even received death threats. The public's lack of support saddened me. It is people like you who make it all worthwhile.”
(khanwens@yahoo.com/ my blog: cebuano.wordpress.com)
