Brgy captains ask: Are you with Tom or Mike?

Some  barangay captains of Cebu City are in a quandary and ask each other “Are you with Mike or Tommy?” after Mayor Michael Rama announced last Thursday his break from the  Bando Osmeña-Pundok Kauswagan (BO-PK).

With this, some are uneasy about how to respond to a   dinner invitation at the mayor’s house today in the Rama compound  for the  fiesta in barangay Basak-San Nicolas.

Some called up Rep. Tomas Osmeña for advice.

Osmeña said the officials  were hesitant to go because they thought the gathering would be a “loyalty check.”

“I just told them, just tell Mike whatever he wants to hear.  There will be a proper time to react,” said the BO-PK chief in a text message from  Singapore.

Basak-San Nicholas’  barangay captain is the mayor’s cousin George Rama.

Most of Cebu City’s 80 barangays captains are known to be strong supporters of Osmeña.

“Both are senior leaders of BO-PK.  It’s not easy to be riding two horses at the same time, but there will come a time that we will be riding only one,” said Busay barangay captain Eleodoro Sanchez.

Mayor Rama denied he was out to count who was on his side.

“No, it’s not a loyalty check. This is a fiesta celebration so I invited them,” he told Cebu Daily News.

Rama said it’s been his practice to invite barangay captains to his home for their annual celebration of the feast day of the barangay’s patron saint San Nicholas.

He advised the barangay captains not to mind politics.

“Just like me, they should focus on their job and never mind the politics,” Rama told Cebu Daily News.

Asked whether he thinks the dinner was a loyalty check, Osmeña replied “your  guess is as good as mine.”

He said the activity was intended by the mayor to “establish his reign in the city.”

Not all barangay captains were invited.

Out of respect

T. Padilla barangay captain Michael Rallota, also president of the Association of Barangay Councils (ABC) and an Osmeña ally, told CDN that he didn’t receive an invitation  from Rama.

Ralota earlier had a dispute with George after Basak-San Nicholas failed to pay the membership fee to the ABC.

George supported Yody Sanchez of Busay when Ralota ran for ABC president.

Ralota said he met Rama last Friday night during a private program, but the mayor didn’t mention anything about the dinner invitation.

“He may have forgotten about it,” Ralota said.

Guba barangay captain Renerio Limotan said he received a written invitation from the mayor.

The Guba barangay council approved a resolution not to support Rama in last year’s election.

“I will attend the dinner out of respect for Mayor Rama,” Limotan said.

Leadership style

Barangay captain Nunilo Monares Jr. of Kalunasan said he won’t attend because he is preparing for his barangay’s fiesta.

Sinsin barangay captain Ramon Ylaya said the activity is far from his barangay. “I don’t have transportation,” he said.

Sanchez said barangay captains usually ask themselves whose side they are on during gatherings.

He said the question is asked in jest because it was too early to give a categorical answer.

When asked who he will support, Sta. Cruz barangay captain Jerome Lim replied jokingly “Ram-os.”

For now, Sanchez said barangay captains will have to learn to work with the two officials.

When asked whom he will support, Sanchez said he was prepared to support Rama’s reelection in 2013.

Sanchez said he agrees with Rama’s leadership style and the programs he has implemented for the city. With Correspondent Edison delos Angeles