Ugly politics

One obvious consequence from the recently strained political relationship between His Honor, Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama and the Hon. Congressman Tomas Osmeña, the acknowledged founder of BOPK, immediately surfaced. As soon as Mayor Rama announced that he was breaking away from his former group, a businessman, believed to be the favorite of Rep. Osmeña, wrote to the city that he, despite having earlier won in the bidding for supply of Bitumen, could not anymore supply it. This act of the businessman, fraught with legal risk, immediately ground to a halt the road project of the mayor because the asphalting of city’s roads could not proceed without the Bitumen. I am not saying that the businessman sabotaged the city administration, but, his withholding of the delivery of Bitumen was adverse to the interest of the city and it prejudiced us, Cebuanos.

But, let us first try to validate if it is true that the businessman is the favorite of the former mayor. His name is Mr. Franklin Ong. It has been sufficiently reported that he is engaged in the business of selling multi cabs, second hand trucks and other heavy equipment. If Mr. Ong has not refuted this report, there is no reason for us to disregard the news that he owns the Pasajero Motors Corporation.

Here is a bit of information that I got prior to the May 2010 elections. I was so disturbed by it that I sincerely hoped my informant was incorrect. Taken in its raw form, this info would help strengthen the perception that Mr. Ong is Cong. Osmeña’s favorite businessman.

Before the onset of the May 2010 polls, when Hon. Osmeña, was still Cebu City mayor, the city bought fifteen (15) buses. Fourteen (14) of them were distributed to the barangays in the South district where the former Mayor Osmeña was running for congressman. The fifteenth unit was not given to the north district. It was handed over to the Marine battalion.

I am told that those vehicles were not brand new. Accordingly, the bodies of those buses were built using the platforms and chassis of second hand trucks. Similarly, their engines were not brand new. But, per my informant, the cost was a staggering One Million Six Hundred Thousand Pesos (P1,600,000.00) per vehicle. If this information is correct, the total purchase price for the 15 buses amounted to a whopping Twenty Four Million Pesos(P24,000,000.00) and the equivalent sum of P22,400,000.00 was given to the South district barangays, shortly before the May 2010 elections, to repeat.

But, I am intrigued by the ease with which Mr. Ong cornered the multi million peso deal. Was he the lone bidder? Why was it that Mr. Ong reigned supreme? Why was it easy for him to lord over others? Cong. Osmeña has been saying that Cebu City is “second to none”. If that were so, was there no other businessman of the caliber and capability of Mr. Ong, engaged in the selling of second hand heavy equipment who offered competition? Why? Why?

Then, came the barangay elections of October 2010. Mr. Ong, exercising his right as a citizen, ran for barangay kagawad in Barangay Kasambagan. But, being a completely new face, he had to string himself up with the incumbents or face sure defeat. Cong. Osmeña entered the scene. He was reported to have twisted some political arms in the barangay so that his favorite businessman would be accommodated into group. The former mayor even ordered two city councilors to campaign very actively for Mr. Ong with such specificity that they personally spearheaded in organizing political gimmicks, like lottery, in the sitios.

Those two circumstances help show the closeness of Mr. Ong to Rep. Osmeña. They may also give credence to the scuttlebutt that the act of the businessman in withholding the delivery of the Bitumen to the city’s road projects was not really based on economics but rather it was intended to throw a monkey wrench to the Rama administration.

In short, because of the breakage of their political ties, the former city mayor may be asking his business allies to do acts that will tend to disrupt the delivery of the city’s basic services to its people. It must be in the mind of the congressman that should Mayor Rama fail, Cong. Osmeña’s own return to the city hall or the quest for the mayoralty of his lady Margot may not be a hard task. That is how bad and ugly politics can be.