WE HAVE heard of midnight deals and midnight appointments. Tomas Osmeña took it to another level by causing or at the very least allowing the midnight destruction, literally and figuratively, of his former office.
The office space is public property. Osmeña occupied it by consent of the people expressed through his election in 2016. His occupancy was conditioned upon his being mayor. The moment he loses the title, he has to vacate the premises and return it to its owner, the city government.
In lease contracts, the lessee is ordinarily not allowed to introduce improvements in the leased premises without the express written consent of the lessor. If the consent is given, it is usually with the condition that the improvement cannot be removed by the lessee at the end of the lease if such removal will cause damage to the leased premises.
Osmeña was admittedly not a lessee, but like any temporary occupant, he had the same obligation to return the property to the owner in good and tenantable condition. In fact, he was subject to a higher degree of care of the property that he temporarily possessed than the ordinary lessee because unlike the latter, he did not pay rent.
Osmeña clearly broke this covenant when he had his people remove the fixed improvements that he claimed he paid for because a hostile City Council did not give him money for the purpose. The latter excuse is unacceptable especially from someone who has enjoyed the temporary use of a government property as lengthily as Osmeña.
Note that immediately after he lost to Edgardo Labella, Osmeña created his transition team. In response, Labella also formed his own to dialogue with Osmeña’s team to ensure a smooth turnover at City Hall.
About two weeks ago, Labella’s men reportedly asked their counterparts if they could already introduce some improvements in Osmeña’s office so that the new mayor can immediately occupy it after he’s sworn in while awaiting the renovation of the old city treasurer’s office. The reply was no, wait until June 30.
Even if Osmeña felt insulted by the approach, his response was childish and irresponsible. It was also totally out of character because for all his faults and weaknesses, Osmeña was never known to be a sore loser. But that is the image that he must now bear and that is a bigger problem than the possible criminal prosecution that he faces for willfully destroying public property.
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Today, Edgardo Labella is officially the mayor of Cebu City. It’s a privilege that the people bestow only on a few. I am happy for him. And I will pray that he will be able to deliver on the promises that he made during the campaign.
I hope that his other friends will do the same. I also urge them not to make the mayor’s work more difficult than it already is by making unreasonable demands. Let no one ever think that he was responsible for Labella’s election. It was the people who voted him in and they elected only one mayor.
To the new mayor, I’d like to repeat what I have told him during the 10th anniversary of Walk and Talk Friendship Club: You have already made history. It’s time to create your legacy.