Barely a day after his proclamation, Cebu City Mayor-elect Tomas Osmeña wasted no time in sending a message to City Hall that he is back by announcing that he would engage in “ethnic cleansing” in order to remove loyalists of Team Rama from the city government bureaucracy.
Whether he said it or not, the term “ethnic cleansing” is a poor choice of phrase from the incoming mayor since it reminds those familiar with international events about the massacres in Chechnya and Bosnia and Herzegovina and other countries around the world where the ethnic minorities are subjected to indiscriminate mass executions from the powers that be who just happen to be of a different skin color and cultural heritage.
We understand the concept Osmeña is driving, however, and his announcement is one borne out of practical political reality. No one wants to rule, er govern, with dissidents and obstructionists within the bureaucratic ranks who remain loyal to “the enemy” and thus create more trouble than they’re worth.
Outgoing Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama also had to engage in his own “spring cleaning,” reassigning people like City Veterinarian Alice Utlang to positions such as the City’s Anti-Drug Board and appointing his own people like (presumably) outgoing Metropolitan Water District Board chairman Rene Mercado, a relative.
Among those targeted for replacement or ouster is City Treasurer Diwa Cuevas, whom Osmeña filed at least 12 administrative cases against with the Civil Service Commission and one of Rama’s key officials in his administration.
Cuevas has signified her intention to resign early before June 30, knowing Osmeña’s animosity, but with Rama facing suspension, there’s practically no one out there to defend her from the cases lodged against her.
Any sanctions that she may face, however, won’t be as heavy as those faced by one of her predecessors, former Cebu City treasurer Ofelia Oliva who was convicted by the Sandiganbayan of graft for the overpricing of cattle scales in Dumaguete City where she was assigned more than 20 years ago.
Other known officials who may be on the way out is Colin Rosell, head of the Division for the Welfare of the Urban Poor (DWUP), and Raquel Arce, head of City Hall’s demolition team and market administrator.
These two officials have been the onus of complaints from the urban poor settlers who comprise one of the key constituency groups of Osmeña. They have sought relocation sites but have rejected the city government’s offer because they deem it not as developed according to their preferences.
Whether some key officials deserve to get the boot either by reassignment or by being replaced, it is up to Osmeña, who still has to wait until noon of June 30 to fully assume his post, to decide where they should go.
We only hope this “housecleaning” doesn’t have to result in the sacking of people who are good at their jobs and are apolitical. At the same time, we don’t need salaried sycophants and gofers like the ones Rama maintained during his basketball games.