If last week’s live radio confrontation between Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama and his predecessor Tomas Osmeña fit the bill of the Commission on Elections’ (Comelec) plan to arrange debates between opposing candidates for the public to get to know their platforms better, then so be it.
It was, as dyAB station manager and program host Leo Lastimosa said, a first for the two mayoral candidates to go head-on and tackle various issues from calamity assistance to the P8.3 -billion down payment for the South Road Properties (SRP) lots.
Regardless of wheter Rama was forewarned that he was about to encounter Osmeña on live radio or it was a setup, the fact is the conversation opened up to the public their mind-sets and perspectives of these two men on significant issues affecting the city.
The heat comes with the territory since the election season has unofficially begun even if the official election period is still in February and March 2016.
Cebuanos were also treated to the prospect of former governor Lito Osmeña mobilizing his forces to support One Cebu gubernatorial candidate Winston Garcia, a trusted political lieutenant whom he sees as the one person other than himself who can restore Cebu’s humbug pride with an anti-Imperial Manila charge that would never be seem in Davide’s three years in office.
While Davide downplayed Osmeña’s statements about him and his support to Garcia’s candidacy, the reelectionist governor will have a higher level of discomfort responding to the disclosure of 5th district Rep. Ace Durano that he will serve as campaign manager of presidential candidate Grace Poe and running mate Sen. Francis Escudero, and hopes to bring the whole Barug party with him.
The Durano clan assured it would still support the Davide-Magpale tandem in the province. That is to be expected: how coud the Duranos abandon kinfolk? Vice Gov. Agnes Magpale, next to Danao Mayor Ramon “Nito” Durano, is the most senior figure in the political clan.
But Ace’s midnight decision is bound to throw a monkey wrench in the presidential run of Liberal Party (LP) standard-bearer Mar Roxas if he thinks Cebu province is an easy win for him.
Davide will have to prepare for a swing of support by the Duranos to the Poe-Escudero team.
Since Ace already has his father and brother on his side, the rest of the Bakud party is expected to follow. Ace is Cebu province chairman of the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC), whose godfather, Danding Cojuanco, heads San Miguel Corp. where Garcia is a member of the board.
It’s a convenient setup. The Duranos would benefit from a friendly Malacañang if Poe wins or even if Roxas succeeds, by virtue of strong local support for the Liberal Party in Cebu. And the clan would benefit from a friendly Capitol either way if Davide wins or Garcia overtakes him.
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