Rama’s exit

After several evening vigils and rallies, outgoing Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama has no other choice but to eventually concede to his erstwhile mentor and now bitter rival Mayor-elect Tomas Osmeña, and it is just as well.

What makes the exit especially humiliating was the suspension order issued against him and several officials in relation to the P20,000 calamity aid case filed by lawyer Reymelio Delute that was put on hold by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) since it was released during the campaign period.

The reprieve allowed the mayor to at least pursue his campaign with less pressure, though if we are to believe the rumors, his campaign was derailed by “special operations” waged by Osmeña’s camp that supposedly included the personnel of the Land Transportation Office (LTO) and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB).

But the mayor himself mentioned that the “special operations” which presumably included alleged vote-buying were merely a front and that he places the onus of the blame on the “vote-counting machines” which he claimed were manipulated by the other camp.

Even before Election Day, the mayor played out the scenario of his rival’s victory by claiming that the police and barangay officials were supposedly asked to campaign for Bando Osmeña-Pundok Kauswagan (BO-PK).

Rama claimed that it was unbelievable and even “statistically impossible” that Vice Mayor Edgardo Labella and his allies in Team Rama would be elected without him as head of the slate.

Even if he didn’t consider the real possibility that city residents didn’t vote straight for any party and simply voted according to their preferences, the fact is he lost, and by a very decisive margin, and that he would have to prove beyond doubt that the results were grossly manipulated if he were to reclaim the mayoral seat in the not-so-immediate future.

The suspension order, for want of a better term, is “compensation” for Osmeña if he did lose to Rama anew. At least if he goes, the mayor will serve the suspension order for the remainder of his second term which has more than a month left from now.

As it is, Osmeña won back the mayoral seat and Rama not only lost but won’t even set foot at the mayor’s office due to the suspension. It would be the height of brazenness to his erstwhile constituents if Rama made good his threat to live in the mayor’s office until and even beyond June 30 or until his election protest is resolved.

Then again, knowing Osmeña, he probably wouldn’t care if Rama would hole up in his office. Thank God, common sense prevailed and Rama can at least take leave for now until perhaps he decides on another run for public office.