I turned, ahem, on Friday, Nov. 10, 2023.
That can’t be true, you say, probably shaking your head in disbelief.
I know, right?
It’s a burden I’ve had to bear all my life. Looking as I do.
Heck, under proper lighting I could even pass off as, achoo.
You’re probably wondering why I’m talking about age. Many people try to shy away from the subject, but not me. Oh no, I like to get in there and start dissecting.
It beats talking about what’s going between the Cebu City Government and the Metropolitan Cebu Water District (MCWD).
Semantics, shemantics.
Both sides are citing the same law to justify their stand. Do you really think your average Joe wants to go through the rigmarole of legal nuance?
Right now I don’t even know who to call chairman.
Is it still lawyer and former city councilor Jose Daluz III, whom Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama sacked from the MCWD board of directors not once, not twice, but three times?
Well, if you ask him, he still holds the reins of the water utility firm.
Or is it Melquiades Feliciano, a retired military general, whom the mayor appointed last Oct. 31?
Feliciano believes his appointment was aboveboard, pointing out the fact that three board members were also removed so Daluz and company could take over after they were appointed by the late mayor Edgardo Labella.
Either way, the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel, which acts as the statutory legal counsel of government corporations like MCWD and the Local Water Utilities Administration, issued a statement on Thursday, Nov. 9, saying the Cebu City Government “has the power to appoint but not to remove” members of MCWD.
If that’s not definitive I don’t know what is.
But remember, almost all of the actors are lawyers, and I’m pretty sure they each have an ace up their sleeve. Otherwise, why go through all this? So I don’t think this is the end. Not just yet. There will be a big reveal.
At least I hope so.
I’m emotionally invested in the story, and I believe so are many others. We deserve a denouement that will satisfy, that will leave no stone unturned, and where only one man will be left standing. I don’t want an ambiguous ending, or a cliffhanger.
The mayor earlier declared he would use his police powers to remove Daluz and board members Miguelito Pato and Jodelyn May Seno if they continue to refuse to step down, while Daluz tried to incite MCWD employees to unite and stop the City’s bullying.
When Feliciano and his co-appointees lawyer Aristotle Batuhan and businessman Nelson Yuvallos held a meeting inside the MCWD building in downtown Cebu City on Tuesday, Nov. 7, several Swat vehicles were seen parked outside.
Feliciano, in a text message to SunStar, said the Swat team was sent by the City Legal Office.
Were shots fired? Was there even a scuffle? Of course not. The Swat vehices were what you would call props. After all, we are watching a drama unfold.
Hmm... I wonder if they have this in Singapore.
So where was I? Oh yeah, age.
Did you know that when you turn, ahem, the hair on your eyebrows, ears and nose start growing longer, while the hair on your head starts to thin?