Was the so-called “citizen’s arrest” of Labangon barangay councilman Rodolfo Tabasa really necessary?
That it was done in the middle of the night at his home by two General Services Office personnel who were accompanied by city policemen makes it questionable, even if Tabasa already told them that he is turning over the Toyota Hilux vehicle issued to him by the city government.
Just as important a question is, who ordered Tabasa’s arrest? Cebu City acting Mayor Margot Osmeña denied any hand in ordering his arrest even as she dared the now opposition Team Rama bloc to file charges against her.
The decision to arrest Tabasa, one of 47 barangay officials who were included in administrative and criminal complaints filed by Osmeña at the Ombudsman-Visayas appears to be ill-timed and ill-advised even if the motive was to drive home the message that the acting mayor means business when she issued the recall order for all city-issued vehicles still in the possession of 16 barangay officials.
As it is, Tabasa’s arrest may have merely emboldened other barangay officials still affiliated with Team Rama to defy the acting mayor’s recall order and stick to retaining their vehicles.
There may or may not be any legal basis for the barangay councilman’s arrest but the way it was done and the resulting overnight detention made it appear as overkill even if Tabasa was released at 3 p.m. last Saturday.
By defying the acting mayor’s recall order, the barangay officials forced the acting mayor’s hand and even challenged her authority to issue such order. If barangay Labangon chairman Victor Buendia’s claims are true, Tabasa isn’t without fault himself.
Buendia claimed that Tabasa supposedly hid the Toyota Hilux vehicle, placed it under his name and paid for parking space. Being affiliated with the now ruling Bando Osmeña-Pundok Kauswagan (BO-PK) administration and having an axe to grind against outgoing mayor Michael Rama, Buendia’s claims should be taken with a shaker-full of salt.
Tabasa’s arrest may not have come to pass if he had returned the vehicle immediately to the city government. But again, did Tabasa have to be detained overnight just for GSO personnel to get the vehicle unopposed when he agreed to turn it over to them in the first place?
With the incumbent administration taking its own sweet time conducting the inventory of vehicles, the other barangay officials who really use these vehicles to service their constituents are apprehensive to return them for fear that they may receive hand-me-downs.
This tug-of-war is turning ugly but even with Tabasa’s arrest, the barangay officials are obligated to return the vehicles to the city which pays for its fuel and maintenance. It is not theirs to keep and treat like their own property.