SHOWDOWN

Bitter political rivals Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña and the city’s former mayor, Michael Rama, are at it again, in what can literally be a pissing contest of sorts, or a hair-pulling duel, depending on what will be decided as the mode of the drug test that they both agreed to undergo.

The drug test becomes a venue for another round of fight between the two politicians after a challenge for a “one-on-one” drug test was issued yesterday morning by Rama, who has long been dogged by allegations of drug use, made worse when he was named as an alleged drug protector by President Rodrigo Duterte.

Osmeña, hours later, accepted the challenge but rejected the demand of Rama for the two of them to meet at Plaza Independencia today to undergo a drug test at the same time, either by giving a urine or a hair sample.

The new round of verbal war between the two erstwhile political allies came just days after the Commission on Elections (Comelec), responding to an election protest filed by Rama and to Osmeña’s counter allegation of massive vote buying in the elections last May, ruled to recount votes in at least 20 percent of the city’s voting precincts at a still unspecified date.

As both camps gear up for a legal battle over the city’s mayoral seat, Rama said he would set aside all schedules today and reserve it for a trip to Plaza Independencia.

Whether or not his rival shows up, Rama said he will still be at Plaza Independencia to subject himself to a drug test.

Rama, who just got back to Cebu a few days ago after a business trip in China, said he will still submit his urine or hair samples to a private laboratory at 9 a.m. today, with or without Osmeña.

“I don’t mind whether he comes or not, whether he goes there or not. I’m going there,” he told Cebu Daily News in a phone conversation last night.

Rama made a public challenge against his political nemesis for a “one-on-one” drug testing in a press conference at the Rama ancestral house in Barangay Basak San Nicolas yesterday morning.

The former mayor said he was fed up with allegations and accusations of him being a drug addict.

He pointed out to recent newspaper reports where Osmeña has been quoted making pronouncements that he would demand that he, Rama, and all the barangay captains be subjected to a drug test before next year’s barangay elections.

Why wait for next year when they can do it now, Rama said.

OSMEÑA

Osmeña’s terms

When sought to respond to the challenge, Osmeña said he would do the drug test but on his own terms.

“I’ll have to make my own arrangement. I don’t know if I can make the arrangement that quick, that soon … But I’m agreeable to this. No, he can’t dictate to me what time. I’d wait until he can’t stand (it) and (he will) take drugs again. Mag-solo siya diha (Let him do it alone),” Osmeña said in a press conference at his office at the City Hall.

Instead of a urine sample, the mayor said he wants a drug test that uses hair samples instead.

Osmeña explained that traces of illegal drugs use in urine can disappear in three days. But with the hair, he said he was told that a proof of drug use can still be obtained within one year after the last drug use.

He said he was informed by Councilor Mary Ann delos Santos, his deputy mayor on hospital matters, that there are specific laboratories that can accommodate hair samples in drug tests although it is more expensive than using urine samples.

Surprise move

Osmeña admitted he was surprised that Rama finally agreed to do the drug testing after declining several times to do it when he was still the mayor.

“I am really surprised. After all his denials, he is now willing to do it. That means, he might have made friends with someone inside NBI (National Bureau of Investigation). So, that is why I have to get my own assessment to get my own hair sample and be tested in a laboratory of our choice,” he said.

Hospitals like Chong Hua or University of Cebu (UC) Med, which the mayor described as reputable, should be the ones to conduct the testing so that they are both assured of the integrity of the results.

Accusations that Rama was a drug user circulated at the height of the campaign period for the 2013 elections, where Rama defeated Osmeña for the mayoral seat by just about 3,000 votes. In the elections last May, however, Osmeña thwarted the reelection bid of Rama with a winning margin of 34,000 votes.

When rumors of his alleged drug use persisted, Rama subjected himself to a surprise drug test with City Hall’s own Cebu City Office for Substance Abuse Prevention (Cosap) last year. The test showed he was negative of drug use.

Even so, the rumors continued until this year’s election. It also did not help that Rama’s name was included in the long list of alleged drug coddlers named by Duterte in a speech last August.

FORMER CEBU CITY MAYOR MIKE RAMA PRESSCON/AUG.01,2016:Former Cebu City Mayor Mike Rama is asking the police to go after and stop killing by vigilantees and death squad members during his press conference at Sun Burst.(CDN PHOTO/LITO TECSON)

Presidential snub

Since then, Rama said he has been trying to get in touch with the President through his connections and friends to try and clear his name but to no avail.

“I’m still hoping (to be able to talk to him). And I wish (to do so) before the end of the year because I’m leaving for the United States on the 26th,” Rama said.

He said he will be back a few days before the Sinulog Festival on the third week of January next year.

During the past months, Rama said he has gone to many people and personalities in the national government including “long-time political friends” to try and reach the President. But still, he has not been able to.

Rama said he would have wanted to do the drug testing with Osmeña yesterday, but due to time constraints, he will do it by 9 a.m. today. He said he will be waiting at the kiosk inside the Plaza Independencia for the testing.

He said he chose Plaza Independencia for the testing since “it is an independent place.”

Asked what he would think if Osmeña really would not show up, he said: “Aw, siya ang drug addict (Oh, then he is the drug addict). Number two, why will he be afraid? I’ve never been afraid of drug testing. He is the only one creating that impression.”