BAÑOC
To refuse an offer is a great insult,” says a popular quote.
Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña, according to a Cebu Daily News report, said he is insulted with the disinterest of Ormoc City and San Francisco, Surigao del Norte, to accept the donations from Cebu City. The elected officials of the two earthquake-stricken areas allegedly failed to do their parts to consummate the donations.
Last August, the Cebu City Council passed a resolution allocating P2 million as financial assistance to Surigao that was hit by 6.7-magnitude earthquake last February, and P10 million to Ormoc City that was hit by 6.5-magnitude quake last August. These amounts were based on the recommendations of the officials sent by the city government to the earthquake-stricken areas to evaluate the situations.
Considering that such amount is government money of one LGU to be transferred to another LGU, there is a need for the recipients to do their parts. The donee LGUs have to prepare the necessary documents including resolutions of their respective councils authorizing their mayors to enter into the said transactions.
However, the officials of the two LGUs allegedly did not do their parts. Ormoc City Mayor Richard Gomez was reportedly scheduled to visit Cebu City, but his trip was canceled for no apparent reason.
For Osmeña, such gestures of the donee are insults to the donor, Cebu City. He decided to cancel the donations to the earthquake-stricken LGUs and instead transfer such amount to the families of the soldiers who fought and died in Marawi City.
Some opposition councilors suggested for another amount allocated to Marawi-related victims, but it is still subject to the availability of donor’s funds. I learned that some officials of Ormoc City tried to explain their side on the matter.
If Osmeña does not entertain reconsideration of his decision, then the people of Ormoc and Surigao have to blame their respective elected officials for not doing their job. Their inevitable questions are: What kind of service do mayors and councils of the two LGUs give to their people? How do they handle the agony of their constituents? What do they do to recover fast from the damages brought by the recent calamity?
The additional unavoidable questions are: Why did elected officials of the two LGUs fail to prepare the necessary documents? Do they really know their jobs? Are they just lazy? Are they just negligent? Did they just fail to appreciate the donation?
On the part of Mayor Gomez, why did he cancel his visit to Cebu City without an apparent reason? Is he not interested in the P10-million financial assistance for his constituents? What does “serbisyong Gomez” slogan mean?
The relationship of Cebu City and Ormoc City has been very cordial. In fact, in the two calamities that hit Ormoc—the 1991 flash flood and the 2013 Super Typhoon Yolanda — Cebu is like the big brother of Ormoc in extending its helping hands.
I hope that such relationship will not sour just because of minor glitches on the part of its elected officials. It is unfair if the people of Ormoc will be deprived of the financial assistance of its big brother just because of the faults of its officials.
I hope Osmeña reconsiders his decision.