Friday, October 17, 2008 Wenceslao: Time for Mayor Soc to mend fences By Bong O. Wenceslao Candid Thoughts
I JUST bought a tank of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) from a neighborhood store and paid P675 for it. I mentioned to Arlene, the store owner, reports about LPG price reductions announced by dealers. She could have told me, “adto na lang palit og LPG sa radyo.” Instead, she spoke about price reductions not really trickling down to consumers.
We already heard about oil firms implementing oil price reductions piece by small piece (usually a measly P1) despite the plunge in the price per barrel of oil in the world market. Drivers and operators of public utility vehicles, meanwhile, continue to oppose demands by commuters for reduction in fare rates even with reduced price of oil per liter.
What is galling is that LPG dealers, oil firms and transport groups always seek public understanding if they jack up prices of LPG, oil and fare rates, respectively. The recent lowering of the price of oil and LPG in the world market therefore exposed the greed of these sectors I mentioned. Bantay bitaw mo sa sunod pangayo ninyog umento.
Government, meanwhile, could not escape blame. Had officials of agencies like the Department of Energy and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board been efficient and had foresight, we would not have felt helpless amidst the greed of LPG dealers, oil firms and transport groups. Inutile is an apt word to describe them.
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What City Administrator Bimbo Fernandez confirmed about the illness of Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña is actually what many people thought of in the first place: that he has cancer of the urinary bladder. Cebuanos should now pray that the series of medical tests the mayor is undergoing in the US won’t show that the cancer has spread.
Some medical practitioners had claimed cancer of the urinary bladder is curable, which means that Osmeña has a good chance of surviving if the cancer has not metastasized. With the resources at his disposal, the mayor can avail of the best cure that the less endowed cannot. The hope is that he will be back in the city in the soonest time.
The mayor seemed to have mellowed down a bit, that is, if we consider his recent text messages shared through the media. One, his praise of the management team he left behind means he does not consider himself as that indispensable anymore. Two, he is no longer downplaying the seriousness of his illness and is starting to deal with it squarely.
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With Joavan Fernandez in prison, the Talisay City Police Office obviously had an easier time keeping the peace during the fiesta in honor of the city’s patron Santa Teresa de Avila. So was the timing of Joavan’s arrest by the National Bureau of Investigation 7 perfect? It must not have been, if one considers Mayor Socrates Fernandez’s sentiments.
I think now is the time for Mayor Soc to mend fences. Without the controversies that seemed to follow his adopted son around (surely, Joavan could not create another noise loud enough to be heard outside the walls of the city jail), the mayor can move on undisturbed. He can start the healing process by threshing out his relation with reporters.
He can also have a heart-to-heart talk with his political patron, Rep. Eduardo Gullas, who seems to have lost faith in his ability to lead Talisay City. Through all that, he should end efforts, if there are any, to buy off witnesses and complainants in the cases against his son. In sum, it is time for Mayor Soc to straighten out his acts.
(khanwens@yahoo.com/ my blog: cebuano.wordpress.com)
