FORMER Cebu City mayor Michael Rama can now heave a sigh of relief. He is no longer in President Duterte’s list of narco-politicians.

I can imagine Rama’s anxiety while waiting for Duterte to release his updated list. Will his name appear in it again? Or will he finally get his vindication?

Duterte had earlier raised his hand during a campaign rally at the Plaza Independencia a few weeks ago. Rama said he was on cloud nine after it happened, perhaps because until the last moment, he was not sure if the President would as much as shake his hand in public.

Rama must be in a higher state of bliss now. The tacit endorsement has been reinforced. He is off the hook. Or is he?

The number in the President’s second list is much lesser than what has been bandied about. He said he was still validating the intelligence reports on the other politicians who are allegedly coddling or have coddled drug lords. That means that a third list is forthcoming. Exactly when, Duterte is not saying.

My guess is that Rama’s name is permanently off any narco-list. He has been vetted and the President is convinced that including him in the original shame roll was a mistake. Duterte is smart. He wouldn’t have raised Rama’s hand if he was dirty.

It is not the vindication that Rama might have hoped for but a redemption in any form or scale is better than none. Besides, victory sometimes comes in small packages.

Now that the President has virtually cleared him, Rama should endeavor not to commit the same mistakes that made him vulnerable to accusations that he was at the very least a drug user. (Team Suyop, remember?).

That means no more sleeping on a bench in Freedom Park, no more riding in a jeepney clutching a branded bag, no more kneeling on the ground and no more wearing an emperor’s garb in public. Rama is a gregarious person which is not bad for as long as he does not allow his exuberance to get the better of him.

Rama and I have been friends since we were young lawyers. He was our president of the Young Lawyers’ Association of Cebu and we played for the same Integrated Bar of the Philippines basketball team. I know him to be a decent person and a good friend and until now, I refuse to believe that he had ever been into drugs in any capacity.

But there were times when I found it difficult arguing that point not because I did not believe that he was clean but because the others made a stronger case that he was not.

The President said that he is, although not expressly. It couldn’t have come at a better time: Rama is said to be in a tight race with his opponent for vice mayor, Mary Ann de los Santos. Duterte threw him a lifeline and Rama must grab and embrace it.