Tom: Alvin to ruin Rama’s re-election bid

HE may help secure some votes, but Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama’s association with former mayor Alvin Garcia will do more harm than good in his re-election bid.

So said Rep. Tomas Osmeña of Cebu City’s south district, who warned that those who didn’t like Garcia’s two-term tenure as mayor will vote against Rama. Garcia heads the Kugi Uswag Sugbu (Kusug) party.

Osmeña, a former mayor, plans to run against Rama in the 2013 election.

He said he wasn’t scared of a Rama-Garcia alliance or one with former south district congressman Antonio Cuenco.

“We do not react to them because we are doing OK,” said Osmeña of his group in Bando Osmena Pundok Kauswagan.

He said Cuenco was a strong candidate but can be beaten.

Osmeña said he is allowing third term councilor Rodrigo Abellanosa and lawyer Aristotle Batuhan to establish their links with the 34 south district barangays.

“If one of them can show later that he can win against Cuenco, then we will endorse that person,” he said.

His wife Councilor Margot Osmeña, who has the support of most of the south barangay captains, also remains an option for the congressional race.

A total of 30 of the 34 south barangay captains earlier signed a petition to support Cuenco’s candidacy.

But only 14 of them showed up during his birthday celebration on Monday.

Rep. Osmeña said the petition of support for Cuenco’s candidacy was drafted not to express support on his candidacy per se but to endorse him as BO-PK’s south district candidate, something that he did not approve of.

In their petition, signatories also mentioned that they were prepared to withdraw support for Cuenco should Councilor Osmeña run for Congress.

“Many of the (south) barangay captains said that when they endorsed Cuenco that was for my consumption.  But it (the endorsement) has gotten into his (Cuenco’s) head,” said the congressman.

Councilor Osmeña earlier said she is open to any possibilities.

Rep. Osmeña also questioned why Rama included former councilor Edwin Jagmoc in his north district council slate.

Osmeña said Rama opposed Jagmoc’s inclusion in their 2010 lineup citing his poor performance as councilor.

He also decried Team Rama’s “dirty tactics” of using disgruntled City Hall employees to retaliate against him.

“They are using City Hall employees as a battle ground.  They (employees) got fired because of me.  They want me to die … but that’s not going to happen,” said Osmeña, who added that he has long been declared as cancer-free by his doctors. Chief of Reporters Doris C. Bongcac