THE history between Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña and Councilor Mary Ann delos Santos is as colorful as the hateful words they used to throw at each other.
Eleven years ago, the two faced off in the 2007 mayoral race.
Now, Osmeña is seeking reelection with delos Santos as his running mate under Bando Osmeña Pundok Kauswagan (BOPK).
The two would have been a very unlikely tandem if this were the early 2000s, when delos Santos was an ally of Osmeña’s political nemesis, former mayor Alvin Garcia.
Delos Santos’ political career started in Barangay Lahug, where she was elected as barangay councilor in 1994 and became barangay captain in 1997, a position she held for several terms.
In 2010, she ran for north district representative but lost to BOPK’s Rachel del Mar.
In 2013, delos Santos was the only Team Rama candidate for north district councilor who won.
Her relationship with the opposition ended in 2015, however, due to disagreements on the use of public funds, among other reasons.
Because the delos Santoses enjoy the support of Lahug, the barangay with the largest voting population in the north, the people became hostile toward Osmeña as an offshoot of their conflict.
This is perhaps the reason that last week, it came as a surprise to some Lahug residents that BOPK chose to announce its slate for the 2019 midterm elections to around 3,000 supporters there.
“We’ve come a long way, Lahug. Eleven years ago, nobody would have imagined Mary Ann as BOPK’s candidate for vice mayor. I promised you three years ago that we would take care of your beloved ‘Kap.’ Thank you for trusting us. We will not let you down,” Osmeña wrote in his Facebook page last Oct. 13.
Despite their rough start, Osmeña is confident that their tandem is solid and will not be another Tomas-Mike story. Rama was Osmeña’s vice mayor for three consecutive terms before the two had a falling out.
“Unlike Mike Rama, Mary Ann has zero link to drugs and dubious characters like George Rama, (journalist Bobby) Nalzaro, (Presidential Assistant for the Visayas Michael) Dino and Rene Mercado,” Osmeña told SunStar Cebu in a text message.
SunStar Cebu tried to reach Delos Santos for comment but she did not reply. (RTF)