I AM in Sitio Maomawan, Babag, Cebu City attending its annual fiesta in honor of St. John Mary Vianney upon the invitation of its parish priest, Fr. Rommel Mark Barneso.
St. John Mary Vianney is not so popular like other saints. He is the patron saint of priests, known as the “Cure of Ars,” Jean Baptiste Marie Vianny of France. Bishop Jose Palma celebrated the mass but I missed it because I arrived late. The celebration was something unique as the “kumbira” (eating) and the program were held in the sitio’s open court beside the church attended by Fr. Mark’s friends and some parishioners.
Maomawan is not yet a full-fledged parish. It’s a quasi-parish under the Guadalupe parish. The lot where the church stands is yet to be donated by its owner to the Cebu Archdiocese, which is one of the requirements to convert it into a parish.
I have been visiting this place since Fr. Mark was assigned here a year ago. Fr. Mark strived hard to introduce improvements to the church and the convent with the help of concerned parishioners and Fr. Mark’s friends. The scenery and the surroundings are very beautiful. The place is surrounded by hills where residents cultivate flowers and fruit-bearing trees.
Joining our group were Atty. Cheking Seares, businessmen Raul Laurente, David Cua, composer Paul Melendez, hotelier Rod Ngo and Jun Llanos, who owns a resthouse here. I met Councilor Hanz Abella, who represented Mayor Mike Rama. Well, you know already the fiesta celebration in the rural area. It’s eat and drink all you can.
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What happened to the investigation on the missing scrap iron of the demolished Cebu City Medical Center (CCMC) building that was instigated by the City Council? I posed this question because after the brouhaha, it seems the council has been “silent” on the issue. It was fellow Sun.Star Cebu columnist Atty. Eli Espinosa who exposed the alleged controversy. Based on Espinosa’s expose, Councilor Sisinio “Bebs” Andales brought up the issue before the council.
He asked the council to investigate the issue. But it seems Andales is also silent on the issue. Council sources said Andales even withdrew his resolution calling for the investigation. What’s up, idol Bebs? Hilum naman ka? Is it because the person who allegedly had a hand in the matter is now inside the political fence of the Bando Osmeña Pundok Kauswagan (BOPK)? Councilor Mary Ann de los Santos, who was supposed to be subject of the controversy, is now with BOPK.
Sources at City Hall told me the reason Mary Ann is siding with BOPK is this issue.
The “has been politician” who is the titular head of BOPK had allegedly threatened her to pursue the investigation. And Mary Ann allegedly succumbed to the threat. To neutralize the move and to avoid charges before the anti-graft office, she opted to join BOPK. Mary Ann is no longer an independent as she projects herself. She is now with BOPK as shown by her action. She joined BOPK councilors in passing a resolution postponing the payment of SM and Ayala consortium to the City Government for the sale of lots at the South Road Properties. She is just waiting for the formal announcement of BOPK regarding her defection.
Mary Ann has been telling her colleagues she no longer likes the management style of Mayor Mike Rama after she was eased out of the CCMC’s ad hoc committee. Mary Ann headed the CCMC ad hoc committee and represented the ad hoc committee in the bids and awards committee.
She was the one who consistently moved to disqualify the winning bidder, the A. Oreta-WTG consortium, because of alleged discrepancy in their bidding documents. Following the controversy, Mayor Rama decided to declare a failure of bidding and called for another bidding. A local construction company volunteered to demolish the building at no cost to the City Government. The same company approached a high-ranking City Hall official and offered millions of pesos to demolish CCMC after it was declared unsafe following the 7.2 magnitude earthquake almost two years ago.
So, what happened to the council’s investigation on the missing scrap iron? Nahulog na bung-aw ug dayon natunaw? The council is not really determined to unmask the alleged “culprit” because the person is on the side of the BOPK-dominated council. Mga baga mog nawong diha. Mora mog tigre nga maayo lang mopaghot pero walay ngipon. Maghilum na lang mo diha, uy.
(bobby.nalzar@yahoo.com)
