'No Feb. 14: Tabang!'
One Marijoy Tunacao Montero complained on Facebook that "Way February 14 sa among kalendaryo. Mayor, tabang!" Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmena's reply was a reproduction of the month's calendar -- with, you guessed it, number "14" for all the days of February.
Zero wife or zero wealth
With three photos showing a young Tomas with younger Margot runs this line: "You only have one life, so remember to have only one wife. Because if (you) try to have more than one wife, you might get zero wife and maybe even zero life."
Mayor Tomas could be referring to taipan and philanthropist George S.K. Ty who died in November 2018 and yet is still being talked about because of a brewing war over his P2.8 billion estate (as of September 5, 2018). The reason: his first and legal wife, Lourdes de Lara-Ty, is suing the second wife Mary Vy. De Lara-Ty and her two legitimate children have been excluded from his last will and testament.
Ty though didn't lose a wife; he just replaced one with another. It is the first wife who lost her husband and is now denied her share of Ty's huge pile of wealth.
A Cebu businessman last Saturday (February 9) talked to journalists about Ty's two wives and the stream of gossip it has fed to the business community. Ty's story is in media and in private circles.
Celebrating over 'habalhabal'
Those "wildly celebrating" over the passage of the bill on motorcycles-for-hire may need to scale down their level of joy. They can do that more easily by considering:
* The bill was passed on third reading by the House but won't get through the Senate until after the elections and maybe long after that for it to reach President Duterte's desk;
* The temporary operation, which is supposed to happen before the law amending the Land Transportation Code is signed, still awaits rules of the Department of Transportation; it's also not likely to come before the elections. The best they can hope for is an informal deal in which traffic enforcers will look the other way when they see a "habal-habal" or an Angkas unit ferrying a passenger;
* The regulation will be broad and intrusive: LTFRB will decide on fare and routes; LTO will check if the motorcycle is registered, qualified (125 c.c. displacement), roadworthy and driven by a competent driver; a clutch of rules will govern the operation of the vehicles and conduct of the drivers.
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