Tomas admits politicking by taking care of people

CEBU, Philippines - Mayor Tomas Osmeña yesterday admitted that his decision to grant an additional P2,000 incentive to each of the senior citizens in Cebu City could be taken as a way of politicking.

“That’s right,” the mayor said when the reporters asked for his reaction to the accusation of congressional aspirant Jonathan Guardo that Osmeña was playing politics when he announced that the city will give additional incentives to the senior citizens.

The mayor explained that doing good for the public is a kind of politics, saying “why should I be ashamed to admit that this thing is part of pamolitika?”

But Osmeña clarified that he and his wife Margot, who turned 60 years old last July 25, did not apply and have no intention to collect their incentives even if they are entitled to such.

Osmeña said, even Guardo is playing politics for giving free caskets to indigent families of the city’s south district, but he said “Guardo is wise as he choose to give free lungon (casket) because there is no repeat.”

He explained that if Guardo decides to grant incentives to the senior citizens it will be done every year, while if he just gives caskets, “kausa ra.”

Guardo and Osmeña are expected to face off for the seat in the city’s south congressional district in the next year’s elections.

The mayor said he just wants to show to his critics, including Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia that they were wrong when they said the city is already bankrupt.

 He also wants to show to the public that the city officials are caring for the elderly persons in Cebu City, unlike their counterparts in the province.

Osmeña, however, reiterated that those who failed to vote in the last 2007 elections still can’t receive incentives from the city.

The mayor said that this is a way of educating the public that they have a social responsibility to build their nation by choosing the right candidates through an election.

Meanwhile, the mayor also announced that he is planning to put up Botika sa Barangays in different areas around the city to answer the needs of the senior citizens.

He explained that the Botika sa Barangay will not compete with the drugstores owned by the businessmen, but it will prioritize only the needs of the senior citizens, such as the medicine for high blood, arthritis and others.

According to the mayor the city would provide the needed funds for the project.

This is in response to the complaints of some senior citizens that they are not given the 20 percent discount mandated by law when they buy medicine. – Rene U. Borromeo/NLQ      (THE FREEMAN)