Nalzaro: Garcia also pushes for mayorship
If Cebu City Vice Mayor Michael Rama and City Councilor Raymond Garcia’s tandem for the mayor and vice mayor positions for the administration’s coalition fail, the other option is to field Metropolitan Cebu Water District (MCWD) chairman of the board Jose “Joey” Daluz III for mayor with Garcia as his runningmate.
Last Wednesday, July 21, 2021, I wrote about the “resistance” of Rama to Garcia as his runningmate. Mike’s refusal to be partnered with Garcia is maybe because of their old political and personal grudges. They slugged it out in the vice mayoralty race in the 2007 election.
Mike ran for vice mayor under Bando Osmeña Pundok Kauswagan (BOPK) with Tomas Osmeña, while Garcia ran in tandem with former Lahug barangay captain Mary Ann de los Santos under Kugi, Uswag Sugbo. In that election, Garcia branded Rama as Osmeña’s “yes man.” Maybe Mike still holds a grudge against Garcia, that is why he refuses to be partnered with the latter.
If the second option, which is the Daluz-Garcia tandem, will also fail, there is a group, actually a faction of the coalition, that pushes for Garcia for mayor. This faction, composed of young aspiring politicians, is trying to convince Presidential Assistant for the Visayas Michael Dino to support their move in pushing for Garcia. Again, this is the last option.
This faction is inspired by the leadership of a young generation of politicians like Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte, Manila Mayor Isko Moreno and Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto. If Duterte, Moreno and Sotto have shown good performance, Garcia, by belonging to the same generation, can also do same thing. He has vast experience in politics, being a two-term councilor. He is a lawyer by profession and a former human resources head of SunStar Publications Inc.
Look at the performance of our very own Talisay City Mayor Gerard Anthony “Samsam” Gullas. He is also doing well. We have yet to hear of Samsam getting involved in any shenanigan or abusive conduct despite being a scion of the Gullas political clan. He is very dynamic in his leadership and has introduced more innovations since he took over the mayorship for two terms now. Next year, his wife Rhea will replace him as he will seek again the congressional seat in the first district replacing his lolo (grandfather) Eddiegul, who will be retiring from politics. City of Naga Mayor Christine Chiong and Liloan Mayor Christina Garcia Frasco have also shown excellent performances and deserve to be reelected. Chiong and Frasco are also lawyers.
Young leaders tend to embrace change, which also means they typically have a lot of ideas and are more optimistic about change compared to older managers. Young leaders are skilled at inspiring employees and getting them excited about accomplishing objectives. An effective youth leadership development program teaches young people that they have the potential to lead others, empowering them to feel confident in their beliefs.
Young leaders are more likely to challenge the way things are done and push for improvement. They are results driven and focus on the need to achieve their goals. They are not afraid to tackle challenges and are more likely to develop ambitious goals as compared to seasoned leaders.
There are big advantages of young managers. They lack experience but young managers make up for it with these traits: They welcome change. They are inspiring. They are receptive to feedback. They are always looking to improve things. They are focused on results and they set a stretch goal.
We need young blood now to change the image of our political landscape. It’s time for those aging politicians to retire and enjoy the remaining days of their lives away from the political limelight.