Fall of (some of ) Cebu’s old guard

Cebuanos showed their disenchantment with the old guard by  toppling two of  the most established political leaders  in the May 13 election.

Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama earned a fresh mandate to govern the Queen City of the South by defeating his rival, supposed City Hall returnee Rep. Tomas Osmeña of Cebu City’s south district.

Johnny Delos Reyes edged out a political veteran, Cebu 1st district Rep. Eduardo Gullas who ran for  mayor of Talisay City.

A rejection of one of Cebu’s dynasties also sounded as  Hilario Davide  III of the Liberal Party  held a comfortable lead of more than 100,000 votes over his  contender for Cebu governor, Rep. Pablo John Garcia.

Townsfolk across Cebu gave Davide, who ran  a platform of anti-corruption and participatory governance,  gave him  what he did not quite reach in 2010 in his race against now suspended governor Gwendolyn Garcia.

The desire for change at the Capitol had simply reached boiling point.

Garcia patriarch Pablo ruled the province for three terms.  So did his daughter, Gwendolyn,  the  first woman  governor and the first one ever to be suspended by Malacañang for gross abuse of authority.

Cebu voters in the province are awakening to the fact that power can’t  be easily handed down like a family heirloom.

A mandate must be deserved by each individual.

Mayor Rama’s victory was a major upset for the  much-vaunted machinery of Osmeña’s Bando Osmeña – Pundok Kauswagan (BO-PK) that is used to winning all seats in the City Council.

By handing a  victory to Mayor Rama, who was proclaimed winner yesterday by the Commission on Elections, Cebu City residents absolved him of the paralysis in governance endured during his three-year term.

With the election result in Cebu City,  BO-PK councilors  will hopefully realize that time and public good will is wasted in empty filibustering, and that it’s better to find points of consensus with Mayor Rama in serving their constituents.

The number of voters who supported Osmeña is not negligible, but those who stood by Rama showed their discontent  with the bickering between the executive and the City Council that kept Cebu City from moving forward.

Osmeña’s contributions to Cebu’s economic progress since 1998 will not be forgotten but this time it did little  to erase the impression that he spent more time in the last three years years counteracting Rama and being BO-PK’s chief than being  congressman of the south district.

Congressman Gullas was gracious in his defeat and  swiftly conceded to Delos Reyes.

Pablo John Garcia and Tom  Osmeña could take a page from his book as the most  senior among the  politicians of the old guard.

The voters have spoken.

The startline changes give us  reason to be hopeful that albeit slowly we are maturing as a democracy.