At noontime on Monday, Cebu City will have a new mayor, and the province a new governor, each carrying the weight of public expectation on their shoulders.
It’s a heavy burden. Nestor Archival and Pamela Baricuatro were elected on the promise of change. But they will be working with legislators who were on the opposing stage when they made their promises. Can they deliver?
The prospect looks less daunting for Archival. While the membership of the city council is a mixed bag, in equal measure, of Bando Osmeña Pundok Kauswagan (BOPK), Barug and Kusug partisans, open hostility is not expected, owing mostly to the mayor’s non-belligerent nature.
His victory has been accepted graciously by his rivals and their supporters. Here, Raymond Garcia deserves special mention. The outgoing mayor conceded defeat without any trace of reluctance when it became apparent that he did not have enough votes to keep
his crown.
Michael Rama’s reaction is an outlier but note can be made of the fact that in the two elections that he lost, he did not concede. His filing an electoral protest is not personal against Archival who was his colleague in the city council for many years. I do not think Rama will soil his name and that of his grandfather by instructing the six councilors allied with him to take the obstructionist path.
Besides, Archival has the good fortune of having Tomas Osmeña as vice mayor and presiding officer of the council. Many of the councilors have at one time or another been allied with him. With that history and his political savvy, Osmeña should be able to persuade at least four opposition councilors to cross party lines to pass measures that are important to the Archival administration.
Baricuatro’s situation is more problematic. The “people’s governor” will find it extremely difficult to secure the cooperation of the provincial board, judging from their actuation during the dying days of the Gwendolyn Garcia regime. They will most probably protest the obstructionist tag so let’s stay at uncooperative.
Of course, we all know why. They’re loyal to Garcia, who does not even attempt to hide her contempt of Baricuatro. Seeing her conqueror succeed is not in Garcia’s agenda.
The feeling is mutual, that is obvious. She hates her, her hates she, if you’ll pardon the labored attempt at poetic license. Pretty soon, we are going to witness a catfight between two of the most influential women in the province if they don’t stop the venomous back and forth.
My unsolicited advice: one should stop thinking that she is still the governor and acting it; the other should start thinking that she is already the governor and act accordingly.