Tomas Osmena's crazy idea

Sunday, September 15, 2013

CITIZEN Tomas Osmeña insisted that Mayor Mike Rama should come up with a concrete plan on how to sell the South Road Properties (SRP) and this should be subjected to a public consultation or referendum.

He said he would no longer meddle in how the present administration deal with the SRP? Kaha? Sure siya?

For me, this is a crazy idea.

When Tomas was the mayor and conceptualized the creation of the multi-billion peso SRP, did he consult the Cebuanos or conduct a referendum about his brainchild? When SRP was ready for disposal, did he consult the Cebuanos about the proposal of FilInvest and SM Prime Holdings to buy a portion of the 300-hectare lot? Did he conduct a referendum when he donated a parcel of lot to the University of the Philippines? He did not. He was practically calling the shots as if the SRP were his personal property.

And now he is talking about public consultation and referendum on the move of Mayor Rama. Wala siya kuyapi? What’s the use of our City Council?

We are a representative government. We elected officials to represent the people in our legislature. An approval of the City Council is already a legal move to make the transaction legitimate. If he would no longer meddle in the disposal of the SRP, he should instruct his political lieutenants in the council to support the executive decision.

Tomas should be reminded that he does not own SRP. It’s the taxpayers of Cebu who are the ones paying for that huge loan and interest from the Japan Bank of International Cooperation (JBIC). If he does not allow Mike to sell SRP lots, where will the City Government get the revenue to pay for the loan? Currently, the City’s revenue collection is enough to offset the City’s other expenses. Do we need to increase our taxes?

Mike’s plan for use of SRP revenue includes the construction of a comprehensive drainage system. This plan should be supported by Tomas’s allies in the council because we always experience flooding everytime there is heavy downpour. Kanus-a pa man na nila sulbaron ang baha? (When do they intend to solve flooding?)

Tomas also said that it’s not a wise move to sell SRP as of this time because SM and FilInvest are not yet fully developed. He defended his position by saying that we should wait for these companies to be fully developed as the prices of SRP lots will go higher then. Crazy idea again.

Why wait for SM and FilInvest to be fully developed before we dispose of some SRP lots? If there are interested buyers now, then by all means dispose of those lots because if the deal is consummated, the buyers will start paying real property taxes.

This means another income for the city even if the buyers will not develop yet their properties.

That’s what they call speculators.

But to stop this kind of practice by some investors, it should then be put in the agreement that they should develop their property on a deadline. If not, the City Government has the right to re-possess the property. That is what the Ayalas are doing. In fact, they can dictate the design of the buildings to be constructed in their properties. What can the City Government get if those lots remain idle? None.

With few investors, we can still consider SRP a white elephant.  Unya maghinakog si Tomas anang SRP kay huwaton pa nga makabalik siya sa City Hall?   Read the complete source article in the Cebu Sunstar at this link copy and paste in your browser

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/opinion/2013/09/15/editorial-sustaining-war-against-corruption-303369

Tomas Osmeña‘Schizo’ destiny

President Osmeña once prohibited Sergio Jr. from accepting honoraria for lecturing at UP. Did his grandson inherit that "delicadeza"?

As Cebu mayor, Tomas turned a blind eye to 183 summary executions by faceless vigilantes. UN Special Rapporteur Philip Alston slammed the salvaging. So, did Cardinal Ricardo Vidal.

A spineless regional Ombudsman hasn’t resolved charges over two donated Dodge Charger 2009 vehicles. Dolled up as police cars, topped by “wang-wangs, these were “not given to the city,” former congressman Osmeña claims. They were “gifts.”

The anti-graft law bars officials from accepting gifts. But “there’s a police officer inside when the cars are used,” Osmena protested. Hastily, he had them repainted.” Got a problem with that?” Osmeña fumed.

Yes. His ancestor’s ethical sense would never tolerate a bogus police car. But "mules boast their ancestors were horses.”

Is Don Sergio just a line-etched image on the P50 bill today? Or is the man who was journalist, bar topnotcher, legislator to wartime exiled president relevant?

Bando Osmeña city councilors will praise him Monday. Tuesday, it will be business as usual. They’ll gut the Cebu Investments Promotion Center. Or any project that rival Mayor Mike Rama proposes.  Read the full source article at the following link copy and paste in your browser  Cebu Sunstar
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/opinion/2013/09/07/mercado-schizo-destiny-302043

Editorial: Mocking election rules by Osmena and the BOPK

IT'S interesting strategy, this pushing of the bounds of the legal to gain political advantage.
Rep. Tomas Osmeña and his trusted aide, Augustus Pe Jr., already did this with the latter running for an unprecedented fourth term in the Cebu City Council by transferring his candidacy from the north to the south district to skirt the constitutional provision on term limits.

Now Osmeña and his Bando Osmeña-Pundok Kauswagan (BOPK) are making people believe that the “Type O” tarpaulins they have been hanging everywhere in the city is the name of a brand marketing a clothing apparel and not a label promoting Osmeña, who is running for Cebu City mayor. The idea is to skirt electoral campaign regulations.
Still, those acts are worrisome considering that these can only be hatched by a scheming mind, or by one who can encourage vigilantism and look the other way as the killings of suspected criminals intensify and the bodies of victims pile up.

It’s the same mindset that a former dictator of this country possessed. Look where his rule brought us.   Read the original article complete here http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/opinion/2013/04/04/editorial-mocking-election-rules-275874

Cebu BOPK bets not joining candidates’ forums Why?

CEBU, Philippines - All candidates under the Bando Osmeña Pundok Kauswagan will no longer appear before any candidates’ forum because it will only give advantage to their opponents.

Candidates are expected to answer the question, “What is your vision for the growth of Cebu?”http://www.philstar.com/cebu-news/2013/04/06/927579/bopk-bets-not-joining-candidates-forums

Ombud moves on case vs Tomas Osmeña

Deputy Ombudsman for the Visayas Pelagio Apostol confirmed Friday that his office subpoenaed the LTO-Central Visayas, which, in turn, furnished the anti-graft office the documents it needed.

“That is standard procedure in the conduct of a fact-finding investigation,” Apostol told Sun. Star Cebu, when asked about the subpoena.

The anti-graft office is investigating the graft complaint filed by Mayor Michael Rama against Osmeña over his alleged receipt of two Dodge Chargers.

“At least nilihok na sila (they’re acting on it),” Mayor Rama said, upon learning about the subpoenas. He pointed out that the complaint was brought to the ombudsman’s attention last September yet.
Osmeña, in a separate interview, said he doesn’t know about the subpoenas. He reiterated that the burden of proof is not on him, but on the complainant, who is the mayor.
“I am not going to prove my innocence until I am confronted with evidence,” he added.

Rama has accused Osmeña of taking two Dodge Charger police cars, which Bigfoot Entertainment chairman Michael Gleissner donated in 2009, for his personal use.

Gleissner was the first to invest in the SRP in 2007 when Tomas was still city mayor by leasing a 20-hectare lot.  Read the complete article in Cebu Sunstar here http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/local-news/2013/04/06/ombud-moves-case-vs-tomas-osmena-276226

Jun Pe and term limits and disqualification!

What is the intent of the constitutional provision on term limits? The Supreme Court said that the intention of the law is to “infuse new blood in the political arena” by disqualifying officials from running for the same office after a term of nine years straight.

 

SO THE Commission on Elections’ (Comelec) First Division has disqualified Cebu City north district Councilor Augustus “Jun” Pe Jr. from seeking a city council seat in the south district? But the division's ruling was based on Pe's lack of residency and not the term limit.

Pe transferred his voter's registration to the south district last May to comply with the one-year residency requirement for those seeking local elective positions. Section 39 of the Local Government Code provides that a member of the Sangguniang Panglunsod must be, among other things, a resident of the district where he seeks to be elected for at least one year immediately preceding the day of the election.
“It is evident that respondent failed to establish that he has been a resident of the south district of Cebu City for purposes of complying with the election requirement.

 

This ruling would practically encourage politicians to jump to another district after serving three full terms from a previous district. This ruling might also be applicable to Provincial Board members and even congressmen.

Unsa-on na man lang nato ning maong balaod? Ato na lang ning gang-gangon?  Read the complete Sunstar article here http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/opinion/2013/02/16/nalzaro-jun-pe-and-term-limits-268471

 

Osmeña’s ‘logic’ on PE 

IF SOUTH district Rep. Tomas Osmeña has his way, he would disqualify Councilor Edgardo Labella from seeking the post of vice mayor in the May elections. A report last Sunday in Cebu Daily News quoted Osmeña as saying that “Labella is also barred from running as vice mayor because he forms part of the city council where the vice mayor is the presiding officer.” Naunsa na ni?

Osmeña issued the statement as he assailed Team Rama for questioning a portion of the decision of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) first division in the case of his Bando Osmeña-Pundok Kauswagan (BOPK) stalwart Councilor Augustus Pe Jr. The first division disqualified Pe from seeking a council seat in the south district for lack of residency.

If we follow Tomas's logic, then Comelec would have already been flooded with petitions against councilors running for vice mayor since the Constitution was ratified in 1987 and the Local Government Code was passed in 1991. What an opinion.  Read the complete article in Cebu Sunstar here http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/opinion/2013/02/19/nalzaro-osmena-s-logic-269112

Winning campaign strategy ?

In Cebu City, the Bando Osmeña-Pundok Kauswagan (BOPK)-dominated council has been following the strategy of denial and of blocking every initiative of Mayor Michael Rama, who is running for reelection against Rep. Tomas Osmeña in the May polls. Which means that the councilors do not consider the image they would portray, that of being obstructionists and Osmeña lapdogs, as essential in winning in an election.
I would say the BOPK’s obstructionist strategy stems from the fact that it is not the party in power, Team Rama is. Being the incumbent mayor, Rama wisely used the resources available to him to initiate projects designed to portray him as a performing chief executive and to win over voters in areas that benefit from those projects.

No wonder the CEBU CITY MAYOR RAMA was able to gain adherents from, say, the mountain barangays where his infrastructure projects are visible. No wonder, too, that the mayor, who looked lonely after he bolted from the BOPK early in his term, has looked formidable as a candidate because of the perception that he was able to deliver the services that his predecessor, Osmeña, failed to attend to because of his obsession with the South Road Properties Read the full article here in the Cebu Sunstar
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/opinion/2013/04/05/wenceslao-winning-campaign-strategy-276020