A case for 2013

Local pundits will have a day or two to analyze Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama’s speech but one thing is certain. He  won’t back down from his programs despite opposition from the Bando Osmeña-Pundok Kauswagan (BO-PK)- dominated City Council.

Even before he started yesterday afternoon’s State of the City Address,  his arch political foe, Rep. Tomas Osmeña of Cebu City’s south district, sought to downplay or shoot down his message by saying whoever would attend the SOCA would be a “hakot” crowd.

A bigger than last year’s crowd showed up, and it would be unfair to say they were all force-marched or paid to be at the Plaza Sugbo.

The senior citizens, who received the best news of the day with the promise of an increased P10,000 annual subsidy,  were genuinely appreciative and present of their own will.

There  were vendors groups, urban poor homeowners, Fil-Chinese, a youth segment, and a Muslim-interfaith group blending in the audience.

Still the mayor’s message was hobbled by his propensity to ramble.  He sounded at times like a ringside announcer in a major boxing title fight.

In listing his achievements and his future programs in what could be his last SOCA, Rama was clear about his keeping open the  Cebu City Medical Center (CCMC) and not going the way of privatization as Osmeña would have it.

He also reiterated the importance of genuine consultation with stakeholders on projects like the flyovers, an issue over which he has already butted heads with Osmeña and the del Mars.

Rama made it a point to use the word “tyranny” in his speech to contrast his style of  governance with that of his predecessor, the man who is his  forthcoming election rival.

Clearly, the mayor is magnifying the populist appeal of his administration.  And that has been very much his style in speaking,  running City Hall, conceiving programs and  settting priorities.

The voice of the people will be known months away yet in the 2013 polls.  It’s difficult to say whether any gains made in the past two years will translate to a  tipping point of votes.

Rama has said a whole lot, but he has to deliver more than just making life sweeter by P10,000 for senior citizens.  The harcore output  in terms of more jobs, basic services,  and  mature  leadership were not beacons in this SOCA.

To give him credit, though, Rama has made it possible for the voices of a diversity of sectors to be heard in issues from  creekside flooding and resettlement, heritage conservation, to the  environment and urban planning.

The flyover debate, for instance, would not have been  threshed out so  thoroughly or awakened middle-class  lethargy  if  not for Rama’s stuborn stand against building more flyovers without a clear  land use or traffic plan.

There are fears over Rama’s fawning over the Garcias in much the same way that he used to consider Osmeña his boss.  That’s a  valid concern among city officials and residents who zealously guard the city’s independence from the Capitol.

With a year to go before his term ends, Rama has little time left to prove he’s the  mayor to bring Cebu City forward.