No to Comelec control for Cebu City South!

Yesterday, we wrote a query to Mandaue City Mayoralty candidate Jonas Cortes asking him whether there was some kind of "behind the table deal" with the Norkis chairman Norberto Quisumbing Jr. what he would do to the property that was leased to Norkis if he wins as Mandaue City Mayor.

This property was the subject of a heated row between Quisumbing and Mayor Ted Ouano (the latter wanted the get back this one-hectare property so he would build a City-owned school) because Quisumbing did not comply with his pledge to build a Children''s Playground for the use of the children of Mandaue City. Instead, that property was used as a showroom for his chop-chop vehicles.

But as of press time, Mr. Jonas Cortes has ignored our query, or perhaps he wasn''t able to read our column yesterday. But I can wait for a reply over the weekend so we can put it in our column next week. Again, let me remind our readers that the property in question is not the private property of the Ouano Family but the property of the people of Mandaue.

So once more Jonas… what''s going on here? Are you having a secret deal with Mr. Quisumbing if and when you get elected into office? If so, I''m sure that the voters of Mandaue City would like to know what that deal is. If no such deal exists then we still would like to know what his stand is about this leased property owned by the City of Mandaue.

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Comelec rule for Cebu City South? Armed goons in Cebu City? Come on. There were times in the 1950s when elections in Cebu City was like the Wild Wild West. But not anymore. Cebu City voters have matured a lot in all the years of voting in our elections since Martial Law was lifted. The fact remains that since 1988, elections in Cebu City have been generally peaceful and without incident, I don''t see any reason why the south should be placed under Comelec control. If there''s anyone hiring goons, I''m sure they don''t belong to the Bando Osmeña Pundok Kauswagan (BO-PK) because this is not their style and they have never used the three "Gs" (Guns, Goons, Gold) in all the elections that they have fought.

We should demand that the Comelec think twice before putting the South District of Cebu City under Comelec control as they can always base it on the South District''s election historical record. I would like to believe that the Comelec should not succumb to the paranoia of political candidates who belong to the so-called Genuine Opposition. How knows, they might just end up hiring some goons themselves and then blame it on the BO-PK party. When politics becomes dirty, it is difficult to find out whose doing the dirty tricks. But like what I said, it is not their style. If any, the BO-PK has only shown performance since the creation of this political party, which is the best barometer for getting themselves re-elected into office.

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I admire the South Koreans for their close-knit society. When the world read the news that the biggest campus massacre done in the US was committed by a South Korean immigrant Cho Seung-hui, the reaction in South Korea was one of grief, not just for the loss of lives, but guilt that a South Korean man had done this dastardly deed. It is this collective thinking that made South Korea bounce back from the ravages of the Korean War in the 50s. It is this same collective strength that allowed South Korea to bounce back the quickest after the Asian Financial crisis of 1997.

We can only admire the ways of the South Koreans and hope that we do not have a Cho Seung-hui within our midst especially here in Cebu. Just a couple of days ago, I was nearly "broadsided" by a Korean van that was coming out of the Windland Towers. Somehow, I was protected by my guardian angel, as the van was inches from hitting my car door. I got down and lo and behold… a young South Korean was on the wheel.

Of course I give him a scolding about simple driving etiquette. While he was profuse in his apology, I didn''t bother to check whether he had a driver''s license or not. But since we''re on this subject I would really like to ask the Traffic Management Group (TMG) or CITOM to look into those foreigners driving in the streets of Cebu. I know that Cebuanos aren''t the best drivers as far as discipline is concerned but I expect those foreigners to be better drivers than us. But then, how do we know that they have a permit to drive in our city streets?

Meanwhile in the US, many South Korean students studying in US Universities are packing up and going home, fearful of reprisals from angry Americans. I don''t think it would reach that point. But we''ll never know whether this incident would leave permanent scars between the American people and the South Korean people.

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For email responses to this article, write to [email protected]. Bobit''s columns can also be accessed at www.shootinginsidecebu.blogspot.com