Welcome to the fiesta

Pit Señor! Allow me to welcome all our visitors who are  in Cebu to celebrate with us the annual feast of the
Sto. Niño.

I know there are many who came to witness and celebrate the  fiesta but I advise everybody to stay sober and be on your best behavior.

Many look forward to the street parties happening later today. These events leave some drunk and sleeping on the streets. Because of this, the Cebu city government has  come up with a policy regulating the conduct of street parties.

Today’s Sinulog grand parade has fewer  contingents than last year but it will  be just as  exciting with grand presentations.

Good luck to all  contingents in the competition. Let us not forget to pay homage to the  Señor Santo Niño and pray for more graces and peace for the entire world.

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A person I met last week worriedly ask me about the possibility that Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama would be  suspended over the  calamity fund case filed by a  loyalist of the Bando Osmeña- Pundok Kauswagan (BO-PK). I conveyed to him the statement of City Legal Officer Jerone Castillo  who told Cebu Daily News that  a  suspension is no longer possible during the election period.

The  election ban  prohibits the transfer and suspension of public officials unless it  has the permission  of the Commission on Elections. Castillo said a suspension was  now impossible because the case filed has not yet been resolved by the investigating body, the Department of Interior and Local Government. Thus, it is now safe to say that Mayor Rama  would not be  served another suspension by operation of law.

When this matter was explained to the person inquiring, I could see that he was relieved and happy with this latest development. But I warned him that those in power  can always make  impossible things legally possible.

By the way, President  Noynoy Aquino attended the vigil wake of the  the late  Napoleon G. Rama, former publisher of the Bulletin, in Makati. Aquino  had a pleasant conversation with the widow and children of Tito Nap. I’m not sure if Mayor Rama, who also went to the wake, bumped into the president.

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I was dismayed by TV reports about  the situation of fire victims of sitio Avocado in barangay  Lahug. The leader of a homeowners association was shot dead in the sitio. He was heard lamenting that  residents were not getting help from their own  barangay but were receiving  assistance from the city government.

It is difficult to fathom why  fire victims are  not getting help from barangay Lahug.  But I believe their reason is political  especially since Cebu City  Councilor Mary Ann de los Santos, a former Rama ally,  has joined the BO-PK. Lamentable but true. I believe that politics has no place in a calamity situation.

The Regional Trial Court  dismissed the injunction case filed by Dean Liza Corro of UP Cebu. The judge said Dean Corro was not the right person to file the case on behalf of the University of the Philippines which owns the land. The right party to sue is  the main UP administration.

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