PEOPLE have been saying that Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella is a nice guy.
Everything he has done since he took over the reins of City Hall seems to point to that direction so who am I to question them?
From what I’ve gathered, the mayor is fond of consensus decision-making.
Again, I’m just guessing.
For one, Labella likes to collaborate and cooperate. He is also inclusive and an egalitarian. Lastly, he likes to actively solicit the input and participation of all decision-makers. Oh wait, that last bit must be the Wikipedia talking. But you know what I mean?
Mind you, these are all good traits. In normal times, perhaps.
These might explain why his response to the outbreak of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) has been reactive. After all, having so many people involved in decision-making can be time-consuming.
His allies would probably point out that Labella was the first local chief executive to impose an enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in the whole of Cebu. Indeed he was, but once it was in place, a lot of people still went about their daily lives as if nothing had happened.
Granted, the move was and continues to be unpopular, especially among those who have lost their livelihood. And let’s be realistic, Labella and his allies have to worry about the next election. They have to make up for all those pogi points lost since the Covid-19 pandemic arrived in our shores.
This might explain the swift action the City took against Maria Victoria Beltran, a close friend of mine for more than 20 years.
Bambi, as she is known among friends and enemies (and trust me, she has had quite a few), must have been frustrated at the lax implementation of the ECQ protocols, which resulted in the pandemonium at the Carbon Public Market on Maundy Thursday and the heavy traffic on some streets last week.
The last straw must have been the City’s handling of the situation in Sitio Zapatera in Barangay Luz, which, as of last count, harbored 130 Covid-19 cases, excluding the six who are currently in the hospital.
The Department of Health-Central Visayas (DOH 7) had recommended putting a stop to the mass testing in the sitio since it considered the whole area to be infected, granting how quickly the virus spreads once introduced into the population. But the very next day, the mayor denied that the testing had stopped.
At any rate, Bambi must have had enough and posted this on her Facebook wall: “9,000+ new cases (all from Zapatera) of Covid-19 in Cebu City in one day. We are now the epicenter in the whole solar system.”
Let’s see... Sitio Zapatera is home to roughly 9,000 inhabitants. The DOH 7 had said it considered the whole neighborhood to be infected... I don’t see police knocking on the DOH 7’s door.
Anyway, people used to say that former president Corazon Aquino was also a nice person. Vindictive? Some claimed. But nice.