'Rama's guy' sacked
RONALD "Raddy" O. Diola, who represented the mayor as chairman of the Cebu City Local School Board (LSB), has been replaced. Mayor Edgardo Labella has the right to sack Diola. The mayor can shuffle around or replace his appointees to the city's numerous boards, commissions and other special bodies.
The problem is Diola was allegedly not given the courtesy of being informed before it was publicized. He didn't know he was already out of LSB until his replacement, a woman employee in the office of the mayor, appeared with a June 8 memorandum from City Administrator Floro Casas Jr., dated June 8 but received by the LSB July 5. Another problem, to the administration, is that Diola is talking about it on social media, "surmising" why he lost the position he said he loves.
Raddy (sometimes spelled Radie) Diola ran for councilor under Team Rama in 2013 but lost. He succeeded in July 2014 former city councilor Jose Daluz III as LSB head representing the mayor; Daluz reportedly said he was to focus on other matters at City Hall.
Mike Rama was the mayor from 2013 but lost in 2016 to Tomas Osmeña who in turn lost to Labella in 2019. Diola got back the LSB post under Labella but, originally, he was Mike Rama's "guy."
RAMA WILL RUN? Critics of the administration expectedly picked it up and speculated. The speculation: The mayor's strategists must suspect Diola is Vice Mayor Rama's man and took him out. That means, the rumor that Mike would go against Mayor Edlab is being resurrected. After at least two recent statements attributed to Mike, which was supposed to have killed the rumor, there it is again. DYLA News also picked up the rumor, citing the posts of former city councilor Jun Alcover who suggested the theory that Diola was being adjudged as "Rama's man."
Diola claims and is credited for setting up Education Laboratory on Radio, which to no one's surprise they call EdLab on Radio. (Remember Citom in Tomas Osmeña's era?) Diola also talks about the School Board having designed and budgeted for 10 new schools in areas that don't have primary and or high schools. But his achievements may be irrelevant to political strategists whose mantra is that all the key people must be loyal to Mayor Labella.
SULKING, YAPPING. Why is Diola not just sulking but also yapping publicly about his removal from LSB: he said he felt it was a "divine appointment" as it was "an opportunity to put into motion" his advocacies for children.
But his replacement probably can do that too. Still, no matter. What must be important is the clannish sentiment that rallies supporters of Edlab around the candidate and weed out those who are not.
As to the firing being done by the city administrator, Atty. Floro Casas Jr., and not by the mayor himself, Diola can look for the line "by authority of the mayor." Bidding for Phase 4 of the new city hospital building was also cancelled by Casas in the mayor's name.
P.S. The other grist in the same mill is that another City Hall department head is due for replacement too.
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Another FB error: Drink up!
Facebook has made many bloopers in its auto-translate feature but two made a big splash recently.
After that fiasco over a "vulgar" translation in a Mandaue City public information office June 24 post about City Hall flags being flown at half-mast (Mandaue City is "half-masturbating...") for former President Noynoy Aquino, there's this July 3 complaint from Sugbo News, the Capitol-run news outlet.
The post said: "Karong buwana na magsugod pananom ang mga pampublikong tunghaan nga mosalmot sa sa Sugbosog sa Eskuylahan. #SUGBUsog." The FB translation: "This month the public schools that will participate in Sugbosog in the School will start drinking alcohol. #SUGARFULL"
Both PIOs disclaim responsibility, pointing at Facebook for the "offensive" translations. Which mistake drew a louder howl? The Mandaue error wins hands down, where the hands were suspected to be.
The government PIOs say they have no control over individual FB accounts, whose holders may turn on or off the auto translate device.
A technician-media specialist says they can avoid similar errors by providing the translations themselves or have a mix of English and Cebuano-Bisaya. Facebook has been providing mirth in its wrong translations for so long; people complain only when the English word is vulgar, in bad taste or changes the meaning radically. As in the Mandaue PIO and Capitol PIO incidents.
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