OPPOSITION candidates aiming to dislodge the present administration of Cebu City held a handshaking activity while Mayor Tomas Osmeña was on his way to attend mass with his team at a church in Barangay Guadalupe.
Councilor Raymond Garcia, of Barug PDP-Laban, said the handshaking was done because they intend to get back City Hall by winning the elections.
The group arrived at City Hall around 9:30 a.m.
The Bando Osmeña Pundok Kauswagan (BOPK) candidates, for their part, held a mass at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Barangay Guadalupe, the bailiwick of Mayor Tomas Osmeña at 10 a.m.
Garcia said Barug wants to personally campaign to City Hall employees.
It was one of the few stops for their first day of the campaign period.
Former Cebu City mayor Michael Rama was seen leading the group while going inside offices and offering handshakes during a Facebook Live by SunStar Cebu.
Earlier on, the group attended an early morning mass at the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral followed by a handshaking in Barangay Ermita and Pasil.
Vice Mayor Edgardo Labella, who is the standard bearer of the group said they chose to proceed to Ermita in honor of the late barangay captain Felicisimo “Imok” Rupinta. Ermita is one of Barug's bailwicks.
They proceeded to Barangay Pasil for the handshaking.
In Guadalupe, Osmeña led the group along with Councilor Mary Ann de los Santos, who is his runningmate.
After the mass, the group also held a handshaking in Barangay Guadalupe.
They will formally introduce the whole BOPK slate on Saturday, March 30 in a proclamation rally at the Cebu City Sports Center.
Barug PDP-Laban, on the other hand, held two separate proclamation rallies Friday night.
As the campaign period heats up, the two village chieftains whose government-issued vehicles were recalled following Osmeña's order, decried as
"politicking" the latter's actions.
Pamutan Barangay Captain Ronald Labitad and Cambinocot Barangay Captain Rey Lauron both said they are not convinced that politics is not involved when the vehicles, which were returned Friday morning, is now under the jurisdiction of the Barangay Mayor's Office (BMO).
Labitad said it would have been believable had the vehicles were returned still under their care.
"Ronald Malacora says politics is not involved here and I would have believed him but unfortunately the school bus that they took was returned but was placed under the BMO," Labitad said.
Lauron is seeking a councilor seat in the north district of Cebu City under Barug PDP-laban.
The minibus in Pamutan was replaced with another minibus which is now assigned to former councilor Tessia Ebonala. While in Cambinocot, the vehicles are now under the supervision of councilor Nila Bihag. The two village chiefs no longer have authority over the use of the vehicles.
Labitad and Pamutan denied were making money from parents whose children were using the minibus as school bus.
It was learned that the barangay and the parents reached an agreement to use the minibus as school bus on the condition that they will pay for the driver (P6,000) and conductor's (P2,000) allowances.
The parents agreed to give a monthly contribution of P60 for the more than 100 children who will use the minibus while the barangay, Labitad and several councilors, will shoulder the P4,000 weekly consumption of crude taken from their honorarium. This, however, do no include the maintenance expenses.
Labitad said the City Government do not have a budget allocation for this.
Labitad said it is unfortunate that the children's welfare were sacrificed because of "politicking."
Children had to walk seven kilometers to get to school and back home when the Pamutan minibus was recalled on Wednesday. Labitad said he had to borrow a friend's Elf vehicle the following day so the children will not walk for several kilometers again.
Meanwhile, in Cambinocot, the patient pays for the use of the ambulance but if the patient is indigent, Lauron pays for the gasoline.
Lauron disputed Osmeña's Facebook post that the ambulance was recalled because it allegedly needs repair.
"What they posted was a Suzuki. It was ugly. It was not true. Our ambulance is Toyota Hi Ace," Lauron said.
Now that the vehicles are not in their custody, the officials asked the BMO head to not be selective and allow everyone in the barangay to use the vehicles, similar to what they were used to doing. (with PAC of Superbalita Cebu/VLA)