THE next national and local elections on May 9, 2022 is about 26 months away from today, but from the body language of some politicians, it is as if the next local polls is only about a year away now. These politicians already begin to exhibit divergent moves in public that their partymates could only shake their heads in amazement.
Critics of Cebu City Vice Mayor Mike Rama were in disbelief in his creation of the task force composed of city councilors supposedly in preparation for the 2019 novel corona virus (2019-nCoV ARD) when the matter is already under the care of the Office of the City Mayor.
In an interview on radio program “Frankahay Ta” over dyCM 1152, Rama revealed the City Council’s creation of the task force. Rama’s explanation, however, only confused anchor Torni Frank of the real purpose of the task force. Rama cannot provide answers to the questions of Torni Frank.
I received several reactions on my cell phone from our listeners, questioning Rama’s motive in creating the task force purportedly to assist the Department of Health in securing the returning Filipinos from China to prevent the spread of the deadly virus.
It may be recalled that when the 2019-nCoV ARD became known last month, Cebu City Mayor Edgar Labella and Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Ahong Chan called for a ban of the entry of all tourists who came from China. Unexpectedly, though, the two executives were subjected to ridicule by the netizens when they made that appeal.
I don’t subscribe, though, to the suggestion that Rama’s establishment of the task force could sabotage whatever action the city mayor is taking on the 2019-nCoV, now declared a global health issue.
A reliable source said that the Office of the City Mayor already created the Command Center that handles the dissemination of the information about the 2019-nCoV ARD, monitors persons under investigation (PUI) and coordinates with the Bureau of Immigration, Bureau of Quarantine and the Department of Health.
Websters Dictionary defines sabotage as “an act or process tending to hamper or hurt.” The term “political sabotage” may sound encompassing and destructive. But, unknown to some, sabotage is one of the means that some politicians employ to gain advantage over their opponents in any undertaking and most especially during political exercises.
Despite the supposed public announcement of Vice Mayor Rama that he indubitably supports his chief executive, Mayor Labella, in several occasions his actions contradict what he says. They could only be misunderstood as acts of sabotage and speak volumes of his real desire to run again for city mayor. Of course, no one could deny Mike of that right.
On the other hand, a simple act of not collecting regularly the garbage in barangays not aligned with the administration in any local government unit is deemed as sabotage, or when the town’s traffic enforcers are not allowed to direct the traffic in the barangays because its officials do not belong to the same party of the town’s chief executive.
A classic example of this sort of political malady is in Tayud, Consolacion. A resident of Tayud, a golf buddy, texted me to complain about the worsening traffic in Tayud because the barangay officials do not want the town’s traffic enforcers to man the traffic in their turf. What is worse, he said, is that the tanods of Barangay Tayud don’t know how to direct the traffic, hence, the chaos on the road.