It’s not a game changer

Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña 

Mayor Osmeña: Taking oath before DU30 does not mean 53 BOPK captains had jumped ship

Taking oath with the President is not the game changer in the battle for the majority in the City Council.

Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña said that even if the 53 Bando Osmeña Pundok Kauswagan (BOPK)-allied village chiefs of Cebu City were among the 3,013 barangay captains in Central Visayas who took oath before the President on Thursday evening, it would not mean that they had jumped ship to Barug Team Rama–PDP-Laban.

“It’s the highest ranking man in the country. It’s an honor for them to take their oath of office before the president,” said Osmeña.

President Duterte is one of the leaders of the Partido Demokratikong Pilipino Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) where the opposition bloc, Barug, is also a member of.

Although he could not be certain if a BOPK-ally would be hailed as the new Association of Barangay Councils (ABC) president and sit as an ex-officio member of the council, Osmeña again emphasized his desire to dominate the council.

Best BOPK bet

The mayor further hinted that reelected Kasambagan Barangay Captain Franklyn Ong would be BOPK’s bet for the ABC upcoming
election.

Osmeña said that Ong would best fit the position as ABC president with his track record as former barangay councilor and barangay captain.

“He’s (Ong) like a soldier, he earned his stripes. It’s not because I want him, but (because) he earned it,” said
Osmeña.

If Ong would run, he would be facing outgoing ABC President and Tisa reelected Barangay Captain Philip Zafra.

Zafra admitted that with only 27 remaining allies, BOPK has the upper hand in the upcoming ABC elections.

“It’s up to the 80 barangay captains to decide, but as what I have said, this is an average game. I am resigned to the fact that they have the upper hand,” said Zafra.

Another name that was floated as a probable ABC president bet was that of Mabolo Barangay Captain-elect Niña Mabatid, a BOPK
ally.

Speculations hit

Speculations about Mabatid running for ABC head, not for BOPK but for Barug, has surfaced after she was allegedly being “close” with Barug barangay captains during their recent oath taking ceremony.

Mabatid, however, slammed these speculations.

She said that photos taken of her with the opposition allies were petty evidence of her shifting her allegiance.

“Everything is at status quo. If they ask me why I was sitting beside (Philip) Zafra, it was because there was no other seat left. If I had taken photos with Team Rama, there are so much more photos of me with BOPK group,” Mabatid told Cebu Daily News in an interview.

Mabatid also denied that she had approached some barangay captains to ask for support for the ABC.

“I’m new to this. I don’t even have connection with other captains yet,” said Mabatid.

Tom’s concern

Moreover, Osmeña added that he is still not closing doors for other village chiefs who would want to run for the ABC prexy.

“My concern is to have 5,000 jobs immediately for the people. How? The only way to do that is to stop team babag,” said Osmeña.

The mayor was referring to the P18-billion joint venture project with the Gokongwei-led Universal Hotel and Resorts Inc. to develop Kawit
Island.

The project was junked by the opposition-dominated council.