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CEBU
CITY—Calls for another people-power uprising are hogging
the headlines, but political and business leaders in
Cebu say they are not interested in joining mass actions
against the President and would rather focus on keeping
the momentum of Cebu’s fast economic growth.
Mayor
Tomas Osmeña, a known ally of the President, told
businessmen in Cebu there is “nothing going on” in the
other cities outside the capital, adding that the
anti-Arroyo sentiment is only felt in Metro Manila.
“This is
basically a play in media to show that the negative
sentiment is felt nationwide. Let us not fall into that
trap. They only want to show a picture that the country
is destabilized,” the mayor told the general-membership
meeting of the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI)
Friday. “Manila is not the Philippines,” he asserted.
Aside
from saying it supports “any effort to find the truth,”
the local business sector is more inclined not to
support any calls for the President to step down.
In a
speech, CCCI outgoing president Francis Monera said
leadership should be characterized by “honesty,
transparency and accountability.”
“The
very bedrock [of the country] is truth—the very big
challenge for leadership is a consistent adoption of
integrity,” said Monera, who is also president of Ayala
Land local subsidiary Cebu Holdings Inc.
In an
interview, Monera said the chamber has not yet met to
make its stand on the present political crisis hounding
the President. He said, however, that they would rally
behind the stand of CCCI’s umbrella organization, the
Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI),
which signified support for the President.
Still,
Monera said whistle blower Lozada “symbolizes the
dilemma of the people” who are already fed up with
brazen corruption in the country.
“His
coming out in the open alone deserves some credit,” he
said. “But we have to hear both sides of the story and
we haven’t yet done that.”
It is
important, he added, “that we preserve the institutions
of democracy rather than protect the personalities.”
The more
critical Cebu Business Club (CBC) is also not calling
for the President to step down—a different stance from
its mother organization, the Makati Business Club.
Instead, the club said the present administration should
initiate reforms, citing the danger of changing the
leadership at this time.
“The CBC
is calling upon our present leaders to be more sincere
in reforming the system of governance. The change should
start now and with the current leaders. Otherwise, we
will be going from one dysfunctional form of governance
to another,” CBC president Gordon Alan Joseph said.
For his
part, Mayor Osmeña said, “We should stop bitching about
what is happening and continue working hard to survive.
Let us work on what we have and make the most out of it.
I think this is what
Cebu is doing, that is why it is moving forward,” he said.
Cebu has
been influential in both People Power 1 and 2—being a de
facto seat of opposition during those times. In 1986
then-President Corazon Aquino went to Cebu City to seek
counsel of the Carmelite nuns and was under the
protection of local political leaders in the days
leading to People Power 1, whose anniversary is
commemorated Monday.
Cebu
leaders were also unanimous in opposing the
administration of then-President Joseph Estrada since
his early days in power, eventually culminating in mass
actions simultaneous with People Power 2.
Mayor
Osmeña said political leaders in
Cebu are trying hard to make their territories fiscally
independent from the national government so
Cebu
could protect itself from the turbulent political
situation in Metro Manila.
“I have
given up on the national system a long time ago. We have
a Senate that’s instead busy doing investigations and
has failed to respond to the needs of the people,” he
said.
“Time
will come [when] we will no longer need national
leaders. We will be better off on our own.”
Rep.
Pablo John Garcia (3rd District), in a radio interview,
criticized leaders of the Catholic Church for quickly
demonizing Malacañang without studying the facts behind
the controversial national broadband deal.
“It’s
sad to know that on the basis of an unproven allegation
[testimony of Rodolfo Lozada] they [Catholic Church
leaders] would immediately call for the President’s
resignation,” said Garcia, the younger brother of Cebu
Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia. |
