An appeal by Msgr. Roberto Alesna during his homily in yesterday’s launching activities for the 2012 Sinulog that Cebu officials be apolitical during the annual celebration may be lost in the din of the upcoming festivities.
The point is well-taken.
But it will surely test the patience and maturity of Cebu City’s officials who just wrapped up a testy annual budget proceeding that went longer that it should because of local politics.
This year’s Sinulog marked the umpteenth time that top Cebu City and Capitol officials Mayor Michael Rama and Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia warmed up and exchanged pleasantries.
But it will also highlight the first time that Rama and his benefactor and predecessor, Rep. Tomas Osmeña of Cebu City’s south district won’t be on speaking terms.
Can homilies wear out Osmeña’s stubborn refusal to mend fences with the incumbent mayor, whom he swore to remove in next year’s elections for failing to toe the line of the Bando Osmeña-Pundok Kauswagan (BO-PK) party and cozying up with his political enemy, the Garcias?
Alesna’s message was a repeat appeal.
Cebu Archbishop Emeritus Ricardo Cardinal Vidal made the same appeal when Osmeña was still mayor and Garcia was at the cusp of a second term in office.
The two are still chill-zones apart.
Rama can expect at the most a smile, or a nod of acknowledgement from his former benefactor if and when they do meet at the Sinulog Grandstand, where they would be entertaining VIP guests.
“People don’t believe me when I say this, but I really wanted to be a priest,” Rama told a mall audience yesterday.
“Others can have the political credits. Just leave me to my solitude and simplicity.”
Many would find it hard to imagine Rama alone and silent. But his boyhood faith in the Sto. Nino shows in his presence in the annual dawn procession that opens the Fiesta Señor and the solemn foot procession he walks every year. With that, he shows a resilient ability to take body blows and humiliation in the political arena.
On the other hand, his former mentor Osmeña is not shy about invoking the Sto. Niño’s protection for Cebu and himself.
In a not-so-long ago Sinulog, when he was undergoing cancer treatment in Texas, Osmeña addressed spectators in the grandstand in a live video feed. He appeared with head bald and voice grateful for the favors of the Sto. Niño bestowed on Cebu and his family. An icon of the Holy Child was visible in the hands of his wife Margot.
Msgr. Alesna’s homily about being apolitical during the Sinulog bears repeating.
In the nine- day runup to the Feast of the Sto. Niño and the Sinulog Parade, Cebu’s political leaders can and should show respect for Cebu’s real king by showing respect for each other.