Riding perhaps on the popularity — notoriety? — of Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte’s claim that he will wipe out criminality in three to six months, former Cebu City mayor Tomas Osmeña’s claim that he will resolve the plight of occupants living in province-owned lots covered by Provincial Ordinance 93-1 within six months hinges on one, very obvious, can-see-it-a-mile-away condition: that he gets elected as mayor anew.
Correction, that the deal or covenant, as he and his Bando Osmeña-Pundok Kauswagan (BO-PK) group described it, is also dependent on Cebu Gov. Hilario Davide III’s reelection.
It’s no surprise that Osmeña and Davide engaged in some backdoor negotiations for the 93-1 lot problem, considering that the governor and Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama have not made much progress on the issue.
In fact, anyone who has been following the power struggle between the mayor and the BO-PK-dominated council cannot ignore the reality that the former mayor has been quite the stumbling block on a lot of policies, especially those that involve the budget and the South Road Properties (SRP).
Plain and simple, the so-called covenant signing was not just for show on the BO-PK’s part; it was a campaign stunt meant to draw the families living in 93-1 lots to vote straight for Osmeña and his slate.
President Benigno Aquino III’s presence at the covenant signing may or may not matter to the 93-1 lot occupants, but he did make known who his local preferences are when he mentioned about that flyover dispute between Rep. Raul del Mar of Cebu City’s north district who favored a network of flyovers and Mayor Rama who opposed them.
Though the President’s presence lent some weight into the event, it hardly mattered owing to the incoming change of administration at the top. And based on surveys, it seems that either Osmeña’s or Rama’s bets — Liberal Party standard-bearer Manuel “Mar” Roxas II and Vice President Jejomar Binay, respectively — are not going to come out on top.
The covenant signing also bears watching if both Rama and Davide get reelected. Would the governor insist on the covenant and disregard the proposed P500-million offer of the mayor and his negotiating committee, agree with it or negotiate for a better deal?
Again to point out the obvious, the covenant, as is, is not legally binding, but it will be if Osmeña gets elected along with Davide and they make it official. Ah, conditions.
Whether or not the 93-1 occupants and Cebu City residents for that matter decide if the deal is worth it or not will be known come May 9.
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