Osmeña family calendars part of early campaigning

Early campaigning for Cebu City Rep. Tomas Osmeña is as simple as a free calendar and a manifesto.

On downtown Colon Street yesterday, volunteers, including children, handed out to passersby   2013 calendars featuring his  family with Christmas and New Year greetings and wearing “Type O” shirts.

“I do it every year, election or no election.  It’s tradition.  And (my son) Miguel is not a candidate,” Osmeña  told Cebu Daily News.

Inside the rolled up calendar is a copy of the open letter of  Bando Osmeña-Pundok Kauswagan (BO-PK) addressed to Liberal Party president Mar Roxas criticizing Mayor Michael Rama and supporting   Osmeña as their candidate for mayor.

The same letter, appearing in newspaper ads last week,listed Osmeña’s awards as one of the Ten Most Outstanding Young Men in the Philippines award in 1989 and Cebu City’s ranking by Newsweek as one of the Top 10 cities in Asia when he was still mayor –then  comparing it to the city’s plunge to no place in the list afterward.

Mayor Rama earlier dismissed the letter as “pathetic” and said he would comment later when he returns from Rome.

His partner, former city councilor  Jocelyn Pesquera said the printed boast was misleading in  its claim  that  Osmeña  propelled Cebu City into  the list of the top 10 cities in Asia.

She said Alvin Garcia  was mayor when Asiaweek ranked Cebu City as number eight in Asia’s top cities in its Oct. 25, 1996 issue.

Pesquera also said that when Osmeña received the most outstanding mayor award in 2002, Rama served as acting mayor for the first four months of that year while Osmeña was recuperating from an aneurysm.

Meanwhile, Las Pinas Rep. Mark Villar said the Nacionalista Party  decided not to field local candidates here out of respect for their coalition with the LP.

Villar, son of Sen. Manuel Villar, said they continue to keep in touch with  local allies in the province like Rep. Eduardo Gullas of Cebu’s 1st district.