Fight for majority at the council continues

Former Mayor Mike Rama speaks before the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan officials allied with Barug Team Rama, where he announced that they will soon nominate a replacement for Councilor James Cuenco.

The fight for the majority in the Cebu City Council continues as Bando Osmeña – Pundok Kauswagan (BOPK) and opposition Barug Team Rama- PDP Laban scramble for seats that could tilt the numbers in their favor.

Former Mayor Michael Rama announced yesterday that they will officially submit a nomination to the Office of the President to fill in the vacancy left by Councilor James Anthony Cuenco, who was dismissed from service by the Ombudsman.

But Rama, who heads Barug, refused to divulge any details, saying he doesn’t want BOPK leader Mayor Tomas Osmeña to get any ideas.

“We have already identified someone to replace Councilor Cuenco. But we’re not going to reveal the identity or name of the person we will be nominating. Wala ta kabalo sa dagan sa iyang (Osmeña) utok,” added Rama.

Cuenco was ordered dismissed from public service by the Office of the Ombudsman in 2017. But the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA), which Barug is allied with, has not yet come up with a nominee to replace Cuenco.

“The plan to nominate a replacement for Councilor Cuenco has already been discussed but things in the past came up, like the barangay and SK(Sangguniang Kabataan) elections. Now, I see the urgency and the need to have a replacement in the council,” Rama said.

But he refused to comment whether or not the move was aimed at Barug getting back the majority of the council now that the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) Federation president in Cebu City, Jessica Resch, is allied with Osmeña.

At present, Barug and BOPK have eight members each in the council. With the victory of Resch in the SK Federation, BOPK gets an additional seat, bringing their membership to nine, as soon as Resch assumes on July 1.

If Cuenco’s replacement sits in the city council Barug could still have a fighting chance to secure a tie in the council, and possibly the majority as Vice Mayor Edgardo Labella, the council’s presiding officer who breaks the tie, is with Barug.

Majority

Osmeña admitted that he still isn’t sure that BOPK will get the majority in the council. The key to getting the majority in the Council, Osmeña said, is for BOPK to get the seat of the next president of the Association of Barangay Councils – Cebu City (ABC – Cebu City).

“I don’t think we have the numbers yet… We are at a loss. I can wait until the May 2019 elections for people to kick them out but I want to make it faster. That’s why I need the ABC presidency,” he said.

The Department of Interior and Local Government in Central Visayas (DILG-7) earlier announced that they are still finalizing the plans and dates for the elections of the ABC Federations in Cebu City and Cebu province.

But if it were up to Labella, maintaining a Barug-led council is no longer important.

“In my personal opinion, I don’t mind if we’re in the majority or in the minority. We will continue our job to scrutinize, uphold the checks and balances required of us by the Constitution and the local government code,” he added.

Cuenco

A vacancy in the city council, according to DILG-7 Director Rene Burdeos, means that President Rodrigo Duterte can appoint anyone recommended by the political party which Cuenco belongs to.

Burdeos said the President will make the formal announcement on Cuenco’s replacement based on the recommendation of the party.

“If Cuenco’s appeal will subsequently be granted by the CA, then he can return to the council and the person who replaced him shall step down. If the appeal will be denied, the person who replaced Cuenco shall sit as city councilor,” he explained.

Rama for Mayor

On top of coming up with a nominee to replace Cuenco, Rama also renewed his announcement to run against Osmeña in the 2019 mayoralty race.

“2019 will come, and it’s going to come whether we like it or not. And as I’ve said, again and again, I am there to run for mayor in 2019. And Edgar (Labella), we should be one, and all of us (Barug), we should be one,” said Rama in a speech he delivered yesterday during the mass oath-taking of elected barangay and SK officials under Barug held at the Grand Convention Center, Cebu City.

But in a follow up phone interview, Labella explained that they will have to internally discuss their plans for the midterm elections before they can officially announce their lineup.

Even if they are allied with Barug, both Rama and Labella are leaders of their respective political parties. Rama heads the local chapters of UNA while Labella chairs PDP-Laban in Cebu.