Luz R. Bacalan (center) with her two granddaughters receives her P2,000 cash aid from Cebu City Hall at the Mabolo Elementary School in this Feb. 10, 2018 file photo
Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña shrugged off accusations by opposition party Barug Team Rama that his candidates in the barangay elections were engaged in premature campaigning during last Saturday’s cash aid distribution to seniors.
At yesterday’s press conference, Osmeña said what happened was only a “minor incident” compared to what former Mayor Michael Rama did back in 2011.
Osmeña referred to the incident when Rama handed out envelopes with greetings that had his face printed on it to senior citizens.
“Some people can’t help it. They want to show their uniform, their T-shirt (but that’s nothing) compared to what Rama was doing. Bastos talaga, really taking advantage of the situation. Why is he putting his picture there on the envelope?” he said.
Osmeña said he couldn’t care less about the incident so long as they don’t use his name.
But he said he reminded candidates running under the Bando Osmeña-Pundok Kauswagan (BO-PK) not to engage in premature campaigning.
Last Saturday, some BO-PK candidates were spotted wearing T-shirts bearing the party logo during last Saturday’s cash distribution to seniors.
City Councilor Joel Garganera of Barug Team Rama said in a text message that the mayor is diverting from the real issue.
“This is how he always responds to the issues thrown to him, by comparing it with the issues of the previous administration and shifting the focus to another issue. I believe he should answer the issue directly,” he said.
Garganera said whether or not it was a “minor incident” compared to what Rama did doesn’t change the fact that there was premature campaigning done by the BO-PK.
He said Osmeña was justifying an illegal act which is an admission that they were really engaged in premature campaigning. “Don’t preach something honorable if you can’t keep your side of the bargain because that is hypocrisy at its worst,” Garganera said.