Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña’s order to the Barangay Apas contingent requiring them to refund the business establishments that donated to them for their participation in the Sinulog Sa Barangay Sa Dakbayan is, to put it bluntly, a face-saving measure that exposed the flaws in his Barangay Mayor’s Office (BMO) setup.
To recall, the mayor created BMOs in each barangay in the city to act as his point persons or coordinators in these villages. The setup was to counter the dominance of Team Rama who has the most number of barangay chairpersons allied to them.
When it was first set up, Team Rama complained loudly that Osmeña was bypassing their barangay officials in favor of the people he appointed as “barangay mayors,” similar to the councilors allied to his Barug Osmeña-Pundok Kauswagan (BO-PK) that he appointed as deputy mayors that can implement projects of his administration.
In the case of Barangay Apas, the head of the Apas BMO Sinulog committee named Rey Suelto said they were willing to return the donations worth P8,000 to the businesses.
While P8,000 may not be much, the fact that the Apas BMO used the city government’s seal in their solicitation letters as well as reports that they allegedly threatened businesses by inquiring about their business permits showed that, given little authority, they are all too willing to overstep their bounds if there are any.
When the mayor replaced the Apas BMO, he also issued the warning to all BMOs that he will not tolerate any corruption committed by them and by extension, anyone at City Hall.
We wonder if the mayor’s warning will be taken to heart by these BMOs and if there are similar cases of corruption that were not reported due to fear of the influence/authority wielded by the BMOs.
The mayor can always refer to his Facebook account and cell phone number as help lines to those wishing to report on the BMOs but then it’s time to ask whether these BMOs are really necessary or if the BO-PK could just simply coordinate their projects through barangay councilmen/women who are allied with them.
Owing to the intense and some say toxic political rivalries, incumbent officials prefer to appoint their own people in posts where they can ensure maximum loyalty and close contact with their constituents.
Osmeña’s erstwhile protégé and predecessor Michael Rama didn’t have to resort to creating BMOs even in barangays dominated by the BO-PK and preferred working through allies there.
While corruption can exist in any level of government, we wonder how accountable are these BMOs not only to the mayor but also to communities like Apas, whose businesses have been exposed to the “tulisitation” of former BMO staff and personnel handpicked by the mayor himself.