I don’t believe that there is animosity between Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama and Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes on an issue that should not drive a wedge between the two neighboring cities.
There’s a need for both cities to cooperate and coordinate with each other to make the clearing of the Mahiga Creek work effectively. The alleged misunderstanding cannot help in their efforts to cleanse the river to help ease the problem of flooding in both cities.
Not to be outdone is former mayor Tommy Osmeña who has unfairly criticized Mayor Rama for his handling of, and dealing with, Mayor Cortes. He said Mayor Mike is treating Mandaue City like a barangay of Cebu City. Osmeña forgot that both Rama and Cortes are mild-mannered and that fighting is not the nature of both men, who are kind and gentle.
And may I say this to Osmeña: Look who’s talking. Osmeña forgot that when he was the mayor, he also had quarrels and misunderstandings with then mayor Thadeo Ouano of Mandaue City and Talisay City Mayor Soc Fernandez, so much so that he had refused residents of Talisay entry to the SRP. As proof of the quarrel of Ouano and Osmeña, I was told that when the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) was conceptualized during the time of Osmeña, he made sure that the BRT route will not reach Mandaue City.
Now that answers the question as to why the route of the BRT does serve densely populated areas like the one proposed by the Movement for a Livable Cebu (MLC). The movement proposes that the BRT route starts at Pardo, then traverse P. del Rosario St., then the new Imus road and all the way to Mandaue City where it could serve more commuters.
The criticism of the former mayor is something that is expected especially if one knows the type of person that he is.
I think both Rama and Cortes, who are reasonable, should sit down and talk things over. After all, they are working for the benefit of their respective constituents. The two mayors should direct their men to stop issuing statements that would exacerbate the worsening relationship of the city governments.
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In a way, Vice President Jejomar Binay is still lucky.
I believe the investigations conducted by the Senate and the Department of Justice against the vice president are too early if it is to derail Binay’s political ambition.
It has been our experience that the Filipinos have short memories. It is said that by 2016, the people are bound to forget the investigation and the accusations against the vice president.
This is precisely the reason why Binay has refused to appear in the Senate investigation.
On the other hand, it will also provide the Binay camp enough time to answer the accusations and to conduct their own moves to repair whatever damage to the vice president the investigation may have done.
They also have a lot of opportunity to mount their own offensive against the personalities behind the efforts to destroy the image of the vice president.
I do not know whose bright idea was this to start destroying Binay’s image this early, but it is no bright idea at all.
But let us admit that the continued and relentless attacks on the vice president have indeed affected the image of the vice president as reflected in the recent surveys.
But as to how long, we still really could not not tell.
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