Has citizen Tomas Osmeña lost his clout in Cebu City politics?
Even if he was routed by Mayor Micheal Rama in the May 2013 polls, the former mayor and former congressman remained a force behind the scenes with his ability to orchestrate policies by remote control through the City Council.
He not only has a wife, Councilor Margot as majority floor leader and head of n of the powerful budget committee, his Bando Osmeña – Pundok Kauswagan (BO-PK) has the numbers in the local legislature to even override a veto by the mayor.
The main prize and the center of the political tug-of-war between Mayor Rama and Osmeña is the South Road Properties (SRP).
In 2012, the City Council passed a resolution requiring the mayor to get City Council authorization before any sale could be finalized. The mayor couldn’t be taken seriously in negotiating with buyers of the reclaimed prime commercial lands with the restrictive terms.
The ordinance left Rama a lame duck. But as the May 2013 polls showed, Rama proved to be his own man.
His four allies in the 16-member council looked puny with BO-PK the dominant force.
The barangay election soon after had Rama gain ground when majority of the winning barangay captains were supporters of Team Rama.
His former chief of staff, Philip Zafra, took over as ABC chairman, adding one more friendly seat in the City Council.
The full reversal of Rama’s political fortune came in the August 12 when the City Council lifted the gag on the sale of SRP lots in a 9-7 vote.
Margot Osmeña was still in the United States when the tide turned.
Four more allies were added to the mayor’s camp when when third-term Councilors Gerardo Carillo, Ritchie Osmeña, Noel Wenceslao and Roberto Cabarrubias jumped off the BO-PK bandwagon.
Officially, BO-PK keeps a slim majority of eight members. Team Rama has six including Vice Mayor Edgardo Labella. The four former BO-PK members are positioned as an “independent” block.
The test of whether Osmeña has enough influence where it counts is how Cebu City officials vote on proposals to monetize the SRP and ease up cash-flow problems in City Hall.
There’s a fundamental disagreement between the mayor and Osmeña on how to carve up the 300-hectare estate, who to accept or keep out as investors, and the timing of holding the property and riding on the wave of rising land values.
The next thing to watch for is whether BO-PK can keep the helm of standing committees in the council.
Carillo himself said shifting loyalties woud point to a a reorganization of committees.
Anybody who’s watched Tomas Osmeña get his way over the years, including beating the odds of late-stage cancer, will know he doesn’t quit easily.
There’s life after politics, shrugged Councilor Margot over the defection of four B0-PK allies.
Rama, who is all smiles, looks forward to seeing his former political boss truly become citizen Tomas.
As far as we can tell, more surprises lie ahead.
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