Osmeña order sealing off gate to church draws strong backlash

CEBU CITY — Mayor Tomas Osmeña is facing a gathering storm even from within his inner circle.

His act of sealing off with iron barricades the centuries-old main gate to the Sto. Niño Basilica has not only incurred the ire of churchgoers and priests but also disagreement among his political allies.

Earlier, at a Holy Mass celebrating the 39th anniversary of a radio station, , Fr. Medardo Durmiendo, an Augustinian priest, said Osmeña "was no longer in his right mind."

"Let us pray for our mayor so that he will be given the wisdom to govern our city properly," Fr. Durmiendo said.

Sensing the backlash to be potentially damaging, Vice Mayor Michael Rama called yesterday an urgent meeting of councilors allied with the ruling BOKP party regarding the issue and they agreed to ask Osmeña to tear down the iron barricades. Eight of the 11 BOKP councilors showed up at the meeting.

But other than say that the councilors disagreed with the barricades and planned to talk to Osmeña, Rama offered few details about the meeting.

Rama admitted that party stalwarts were not consulted by Osmeña when he went ahead and sealed off the church gate.

Osmeña had long wanted to clear the vendors out of the side of the church, saying they were obstructing traffic.

He wanted them to lease the stalls allegedly constructed by a political supporter at the back of the church.

Some vendors moved but others remained, with support from leftist organizations.

Piqued, Osmeña threatened to demolish their stalls. The vendors went to court to stop the threatened demolition but the court threw out their petition, saying Osmeña had authority to clear the streets of obstructions.

Despite the court rebuff, the vendors stayed. Osmeña tried another tack by threatening to arrest for jaywalking people who would pass by the vendors’ stalls. Still, the vendors refused to budge.

Osmeña, who is in Manila when informed of the public outcry, said his decision was not a political one and he would not be swayed into changing it. He said his actions are not based on what is popular but on what is best for the city. — Freeman News Service