Facing defections, Barug Team Rama claims ‘quality over quantity’
Although the scales are no longer tipping in favor of the opposition, Cebu City Vice Mayor Edgardo Labella stressed that service is not measured in quantity, but in quality.
His pronouncement came after around 500 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) officials took their oath as allies of the opposition yesterday in the Cebu Grand Convention Center.
The SK officials took their oath before Association of Barangay Councils (ABC) president and reelected Tisa Barangay Captain Phillip Zafra. Elected barangay officials, on the other hand, took their oath before former mayor Michael Rama.
Opposition Councilors Joel Garganera, Raymond Garcia, Pastor Alcover Jr., Eduardo Rama Jr., and Jocelyn Pesquera were also present in the event.
“Lig-on ta bisan daghan sila. Nag-usa man ta. (We are strong, although they outnumber us. We are united.) We have a sense of idealism,” Labella said.
For the past five years, the opposition had 65 out of 80 barangay captains under its wing, while Bando Osmeña Pundok Kauswagan (BOPK) only had 15.
But the May 14 elections changed the political alliances.
In an unofficial report released by the Cebu City Barangay Affairs Office a day after the elections, 49 newly elected barangay captains were identified as allies of BOPK and only 31 were described as allies of the opposition.
The death of Duljo-Fatima barangay captain-elect Ricardo Joel Ycong meant that outgoing village chief Elmer Abella will be assuming his post by way of succession. Abella, who was elected as first councilor, is an ally of the opposition, while Ycong was a candidate of BOPK.
This would mean that from 49, BOPK is down to 48, while the opposition has 32 allied-barangay captains. However, the opposition began losing allies in just two weeks after the polls.
The addition of elected Barangay Captains Orlan Herrera (Guba), Freddie Esmas (Day-as), and Rodrigo Jabellana (Bulacao) has gained BOPK three new village chiefs under its wing.
Although they are currently outnumbered, Labella remains hopeful that none of their remaining 29 barangay captains and 34 SK chairpersons will jump ship.
“I am confident, but if there will be defectors, we can’t prevent them because that’s their own decision. I will have to respect their decision. But of course, angay sad unta huna-hunaon na nakatabang ta bisan ginagmay sa ilang pagkadaog sa ilang pwesto (they should consider that we helped them win office). But if they have other reasons, other than a sense of gratitude toward the group, wa na tay mahimo ana (we can’t do anything about that),” he said.
For Zafra, being outflanked by BOPK is just a temporary setback for their group.
He also expressed his gratitude to their allies who stood with the opposition despite the change in administration at City Hall in the May 2016 elections.
As for his bid to keep his post as ABC head, Zafra admits expecting to lose to BOPK’s candidate, Kasambagan Barangay Captain-elect Franklyn Ong.
“ABC is a numbers game. We’re expecting for them to win,” he said.
BOPK has already secured one seat in the City Council after Jessica Resch of Barangay San Nicolas Proper was elected as president of SK Federation this week. BOPK just needs Ong to win for them to keep the majority bloc in the council. The ABC elections is set in July.