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Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Mayor floats annex idea to solve conflict with guv
CEBU CITY -- As a political solution to the worsening conflict between Cebu City and Capitol officials, Mayor Tomas Osmeña proposed to amend the City’s Charter and make the city part of the Province.
This way, he said, “Gwen can be the boss.”
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“There has been so much conflict and I think a viable solution to this is to amend the City Charter so we can vote for the governor as well. She (Governor Gwendolyn Garcia) has raised the issue on sincerity; let’s see if the governor is sincere about One Cebu. Let’s talk about this issue and see if there’s resistance from the Province,” Osmeña told a news conference Tuesday.
He further said that Cebu City can have the same status as Mandaue City, whose residents are allowed to vote for governor without necessarily affecting the City’s income.
“They keep harping about One Cebu, so we’ll make it One Cebu so that we’ll be under the governor, and we can vote against her also. We can change the governor and be part of the process. If the Province is sincere about One Cebu, why should they oppose it?” the mayor said.
Osmeña said he has discussed with Cebu City Representatives Raul del Mar and Antonio Cuenco the proposed amendment, which will require congressional approval.
Congressman-elect Pablo John Garcia, however, said that much as the Province may “relish the thought” of having Cebu City under its jurisdiction, that would be unconstitutional.
He said his proposal should not be taken as his way of getting back at the governor for some recent animosity towards city officials.
“I already brought this up before even when the relations were still cordial. It’s not fair to say it’s my way of getting back because right now, people are saying this friction between the City and Province will adversely affect Cebu, so one political solution is to make it one,” the mayor said.
Osmeña raised the proposal anew after posing a challenge to the Capitol to prove their ownership of Fuente Osmeña in court.
He said he won’t allow Capitol to take over the park until they can prove in court that they own it.
“They have to get a court order, they can’t just take over that property. We had enough of Capitol’s road closures before. It’s illegal but never mind, I let them do it but for Fuente, they have to get a court order and prove ownership in court,” said the mayor.
In a phone interview Tuesday, City Administrator Francisco Fernandez said they have no records or documents proving the City’s ownership of the park, but they have asked the Register of Deeds to check on it also.
For Osmeña, keeping the park under the City’s management does not serve a personal purpose, but to recognize the efforts of volunteers and private individuals who maintained and restored the water fountain inside the park.
“It’s more of trying to recognize what the volunteers have done because for all intents and purposes, even if the Province owned it, they abandoned the property—if in fact they owned it,” he said.
As for the proposed mediation by Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal, the mayor said he will attend the dialogue if needed.
He will not get his hopes up, though, that an agreement could be reached between the City and the Province, pointing out that the Capitol officials already failed to keep their word on the land swap deal.
“If it’s better that I’m there, then I’ll be there (at the dialogue). But if it’s better that I send a representative, then I will send one,” added Osmeña. (LCR of Sun.Star Cebu)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Bacolod. (June 13, 2007 issue)
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