Ricky Poca
Of the four complaints filed against Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña at the Ombudsman and Office of the President, the most serious involves the operation of the van-for-hire terminal at the Citicenter.
The City Council declared that the terminal operation is illegal and asked the mayor to close it for not complying with the requirements of the law for its operation.
Funny, but instead of confronting the issue head on, the mayor refused to heed the council’s call by justifying the terminal’s existence. He said the terminal earned P400,000 in one month for the city compared to the P35 in taxes paid by BDO banks.
The mayor is trying to distract from the issue raised by the council by saying the terminal’s operation is profitable to the city. But it is totally irrelevant to the main issue which is that the terminal violated conditions for its operations as stated in a city ordinance.
The mayor’s argument that his predecessor Mike Rama didn’t accredit one terminal during his administration does not justify his defiance of a law that was passed when he was the mayor.
There is no question that the V-hire terminal is earning the city government an income, but again it does not justify its operation because the city ordinance was very clear that certain requirements must be followed.
The mayor is appealing to populist sentiment by saying that the terminal serves the interest of the poor people and he is also protecting the small business interests of the drivers.
Again no question about that point, but the mayor must follow the law in order to legitimize the terminal’s operations. One must remember that our nation is a country of laws and not of men, and no one is above the law.
It is expected that everyone follows the law especially government officials. That is the essence of democracy that must be religiously observed in order to avoid chaos and anarchy.
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Mayor Tomas Osmeña vowed to pursue his case against Banco de Oro (BDO) despite the court order barring him and the city government from closing down the bank’s branches all over Cebu City.
So long as due process is observed and legal remedies are availed of by both parties, I hope that it is resolved amicably.
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I am worried about the signals and message being sent by House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez’s admission about his girlfriend even if he was separated from his wife.
The dispute between Alvarez and congressman Tony Floirendo worsened when their girlfriends also got involved. Alvarez’s casual remark that a lot of lawyers in the country will be disbarred for having girlfriends is an indictment of the legal profession.
What is sad about Alvarez’s admission is that it is going to send the wrong message to our children that it is okay for government officials to have girlfriends even if they’re married.
Our political leaders are supposed to lead and live by example, and Alvarez is not a good example for our children to follow.