TOLEDO City Mayor John Henry “Sonny” Osmeña, who’s running for congressman in the third district, is taking some risk in announcing he would seek, if elected, the division of Cebu province into two.
Cebuano voters rejected a similar proposal in 2007 when Rep. Gwen Garcia, then running for a second term as governor, won with a reported lead of 500,000 (from the 7,000-margin in her first run in 2004), riding high on the issue of “Sugbo-ak.” The term, a fusion of “Sugbo” and “bu-ak,” emphasizes the breaking up or the splitting, not the economic improvement its advocates say it would foster.
Unpopular plan
Mayor Sonny may be seen as reviving an unpopular plan, one that might turn off, instead of excite, voters. In a May 20, 2013 column (“Proposed Mactan Province, shades of Sugbo-ak,”) which recalled the 2007 killing of “Sugbo-ak,” I wrote:
“(Sugbo-ak) would’ve butchered Cebu and created fiefdoms for other Cebu leaders who couldn’t capture the Capitol. Strong public opposition, hyped up by the media, that resented the Machiavellian bent, killed the plan and helped boost the political stock of Governor Gwen.”
Mayor Sonny may have revisited the plan and found it practical and suitable for the seven towns that will comprise the proposed Occidental Cebu. But as a reputed veteran and wily political strategist, the former congressman and former senator must have some idea that the issue might lose votes for him in this crucial phase of the campaign. With barely a month before election day, “Sugbo-ak” is a risky issue to put on the table. Or to talk about on stage, as he reportedly did, unveiling the proposal at the proclamation rally of his local party Team Alagad last Friday (April 5) in Toledo.
Compared to 2007 plan
Probably, it was just an idea at the back of the head, driven to the surface by the adrenaline of the campaign. But if he was serious about “Sugbo-ak,” he probably thought:
* The plan is not like the 2007 plan where the cutting up of the province would result into three provinces: Cebu Sur, Cebu West and Cebu Province. Only two this time: Cebu Province and Occidental Cebu. Maybe he thinks it’s less objectionable than the old plan.
* Few voters are left who’d remember “Sugbo-ak” of 12 years ago. And voters might not see its danger, only the potential of progress promised by Sonny.
Or Sonny, like all other politicos, may just be trying to dramatize the pitch that he cares for the district’s voters. Under a new province, six towns--Tuburan, Asturias, Balamban, Pinamungajan, Aloguinsan and Barili-–and the city of Toledo would get “much more attention and care” by their own Capitol.
Lots of requirements
But any tampering with existing LGUs needs a leadership at Capitol and a consensus among House members at the House who would actively work for the host of things to be done.
The to-do list includes (a) the requirement on income, population and land area; (b) resolutions of the local government units that would comprise the new province; (c) approval of the Provincial Board; (d) act of Congress and the President’s signing of the bill into law; and (e) majority vote at a plebiscite in the local governments affected by the split, meaning voters in the new province and voters in LGUs that remain in the old province.
Few governors want to preside over the butchering of their province. The exceptions are those who think the breaking up will promote their personal and political interests. If Gwen wins: it’s awkward, even incongruous for her to support “Sugbo-ak.” If Agnes wins, she agrees to study the proposal, less enthusiastic than the endorsement that she purportedly made to Sonny.
Dream could die
One can dismiss promises in the campaign as promises unsure of being kept. In the 2013 election, Rep. Aileen Radaza of the Radaza clan that controls Lapu-Lapu City promised to produce its own version of “Sugbo-ak”: the province of Mactan comprising 11 barangays for Olango, six barangays for Opon and 13 barangays for Lapu-Lapu City. In her victory statement, Aileen repeated the promise. Since then, and her second term ends this June, she probably has not filed the bill yet: a Google search does not show any such House bill.
Watch how Mayor Sonny’s proposal on Occidental Cebu will influence the third district race. Before Sonny could take the first step on the creation of a second Cebu province, he must first win and become a congressman. Or the dream would just stay on that Toledo stage, lie there and die there.