First off, a big thank you to Ambassador Frank Benedicto for accommodating me during last Monday’s luncheon at the Grand Convention Center in Banilad, Cebu City.
The envoy played gracious host to Cebu’s media that included among others former Cebu Daily News publisher Eileen Mangubat, CDN columnist Jaime Picornell, Sun.Star Superbalita editor-in-chief Michelle So, Freeman editor-in-chief Queenie Bronce, Freeman publisher Jerry Tundag, Freeman and Philstar columnist Bobit Avila and Sun.Star Cebu columnist Nelia Neri.
In between bites of food, a lot of issues including the incoming presidency of presumptive President Rodrigo Duterte were discussed among those present. Due to the sporadic exchanges, I don’t know if I can recall every single detail that stood out.
Still it was a good exchange and again, I thank the good ambassador and fellow media practitioners including CDN Managing Editor Marites Villamor Ilano for letting me attend. Now on to the issues at hand.
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Last Wednesday’s order by the Commission on Audit for Cebu City’s barangay officials to reimburse their incentives worth P21.5 million is yet another reminder about how the outgoing administration of Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama had been quite liberal in spending public funds.
It doesn’t take a genius to know that the incentives were meant to ensure the loyalty of barangay officials who may or may not have delivered the votes to Rama in the past elections.
But then that’s par for the course for any incumbent official wishing to keep allies into their fold. Incoming Mayor Tomas Osmeña had even designated funds to every barangay chairman for their special projects in their areas during his previous tenure only for one of them, former Guadalupe barangay chairman and Association of Barangay Captains (ABC) president Eugenio Faelnar, to misuse the funds to favor one contractor for every major project in his area.
The latest COA order and notice of disallowance stemmed from the city government’s use of the Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE) to fund the incentives rather than the City’s Personal Services item.
That isn’t an isolated case; the Rama administration was also questioned by COA for using funds intended to build classrooms and other school facilities to finance a Christmas party complete with giveaways at a plush hotel for teachers.
It would be interesting to see if the barangay officials would fully comply with the COA order, but if acting Mayor Margot Osmeña’s warning to them that they won’t receive their quarterly assistance if they fail to do so isn’t enough incentive, then good luck to them.
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On heading back to base after a long day of work for the Sinulog coverage in 2013, the taxi I rode in was stuck in a gridlock of vehicles that formed right smack in the middle of Mango Avenue.
The crowd was so big that it spilled over both sides of the road. I considered it a minor miracle that the taxi I rode in managed to find its way through.
Just then, a girl whom I guessed looked not a day older than 15 stuck out and plastered her face and hands in the glass window on the front passenger side looking drunk or stoned (either way she looked wasted) and mumbled something incoherent to me.
Sadly that looked to be the norm for most anyone willing to risk heading to the Fuente Osmeña Circle on Sinulog eve or Sinulog night.
With incoming President Rodrigo Duterte’s policy of zero drinking in public places and minors off the streets by 10 p.m., I wonder how this will affect next year’s celebration of the Sinulog.
Likely the drinking, carousing and karaoke singing will be done in the day or right after the Sinulog Grand Parade and fireworks display.
But then again, incoming Mayor Osmeña said he may consider transferring the parade to the South Road Properties (SRP), an idea broached by his soon to be predecessor and erstwhile mentee after this year’s wild Sinulog celebration that resulted in a near stampede and injured several revelers.
It would be unrealistic to expect that there won’t be any people caught acting rowdy or getting wasted in public during Sinulog, but with these twin Duterte policies, the chances of that happening may lower down to manageable levels.
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