SCROLLING down: President Duterte gave Mayor Osmeña the right to pick the site of their meeting and to bring what Tomas "needs to bring." The warning: a slap if the mayor would make a mistake... Another Cebuano who was publicly shamed by Digong at Tuesday's meeting of PDP-Laban candidates in Cebu: Daanbantayan Mayor Vic Loot, the retired police general whom Duterte has repeatedly linked to illegal drugs.
First, what people talk about
* DUTERTE promise: After his Cebu visit, during which he didn't publicly endorse anyone, he said he'd campaign for candidates whom he owed favor in the 2016 campaign. How would that square with the announced free-zone, hands-off policy announced by Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte? Apparently, both still have to rationalize the ruling party stance with the personal plans of the Dutertes.
* LUIGI Quisumbing had a separate meeting with Digong while his rival was met in a group with all the other PDP-Laban candidates?
* PHOTOS that surfaced in the media: one, a photo of one gubernatorial candidate with her arm raised by Mayor Sara; two, a photo of PDP-Laban local bets, lined up but their arms not raised by anyone.
Garma's complaint
There are already administrative charges that Cebu City Police Office Chief Royina Garma filed with the Visayas Ombudsman against Mayor Tomas Osmeña: obstruction of justice, grave abuse of authority, misconduct and violation of Code of Conduct for Officials and Employees (Republic Act #6713). Mayor Osmeña recently asked the ombudsman to dismiss the charges for lack of probable cause.
What charges could DILG file, following that order by President Duterte to Local Government Secretary Eduardo Ano last Tuesday (October 30) during Digong's Cebu visit? Maybe with the office of the president, the same way then mayor Mike Rama and other city officials were charged over the infamous Typhoon Yolanda cash aid. They were sued before the ombudsman and the office of the president: Malacañang suspended them but the ombudsman cleared the officials.
The charges relate to the alleged act of Tomas in securing the release of three butane vendors from police custody, which offended police officials and infuriated Duterte.
Whatever additional legal attack can be unleashed against Mayor Tomas, it underscored the president's enmity and provided the backdrop for more verbal tirade against the mayor.
Digong will be baaack
The president in his lash-out at Tomas said he would be back in Cebu as he would like to talk with the mayor. "Just the two of us," he said, let him choose: his residence, in a hotel or in the comfort room. Digong apparently wants Tomas to pick the building and the part of the building where they will talk. The president was even more ambiguous about what the mayor could bring:
"Let him bring what he needs.." What could that be, aside from the medical equipment that the mayor tucks on his waist, about which Diong publicly teased Tomas? There's a limit though to what the president said he'd do: "If he makes a mistake, I will slap him."
'Virtual unknown'
Has the reason "virtual unknown" except in one's locality been included in the criteria for weeding out nuisance candidates for senator?
Apparently, yes, a Comelec official cited as reason for delisting one Conrado Generoso, former spokesman of Malacañang's charter drafting group. Generoso, the Comelec says, is included in the initial list of 95 nuisance candidates being prepared by its law department. He is described as a "virtual unknown to the country except maybe in the locality where he resides."
Not singled out
Suspicion that former senator Serge Osmeña III was being singled out in the disqualification case filed by Comelec campaign finance office against him may be unfounded. He is not the only one: he is one of two senatorial bets, yet, but among more than 700 bets who face the same problem. Serge filed his 2010 papers late and still had not filed his 2016 statement.
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