FORMER Cebu City councilor Margarita “Margot” Osmeña is the official standard bearer of the Bando Osmeña Pundok Kauswagan (BOPK).
Osmeña’s candidacy was confirmed by her husband, former Cebu City mayor Tomas Osmeña, in his official Facebook page on Monday, Oct. 4, 2021.
On his FB page, the former mayor said his wife’s candidacy as mayor will show that the city needs “not a strict father, but a caring mother.”
“Margot spent nine years as city councilor and as acting mayor making these programs and more run and run well. I am not ashamed to admit that she is more qualified than I am to take care of our city in the painful difficulties our people are going through today. Our City needs a MOM (Margot Osmeña-Mayor),” the former mayor said.
Tomas criticized the administration of Mayor Edgardo Labella for failing to address the needs of his constituents during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Like an ailing child, our city needs help. Cebu City has one of the highest Covid case rates in the country, the highest at one point,” Tomas said.
He said the current administration ended his Long Life Medical Assistance Program, which he said delivered medicines to the houses of qualified senior citizens for free.
Tomas also claimed that the City Hospitalization Assistance and Medicines Program (Champ) was also “reduced to nothing.”
While Margot was revealed as BOPK’s official mayoral candidate, Tomas didn’t disclose who will be her running mate.
Should Margot file her certificate of candidacy (COC), she will be facing acting Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama for the city’s mayoral seat.
Bimbo’s run
Francisco “Bimbo” Fernandez filed on Monday his certificate of candidacy (COC) for vice mayor of Cebu City. He served as Cebu City administrator during the time of Tomas’ mayorship.
He was accompanied by his supporters from various urban poor groups in the city during his filing of candidacy at 3:48 p.m. He will be running under the Liberal Party.
Fernandez was the first aspirant for Cebu City’s vice mayorship to submit his COC.
He will face City Councilor Raymond Alvin Garcia, who is the majority floor leader of the City Council and running mate of Vice Mayor Michael Rama, the standard bearer of the Partido Barug-PDP Laban. Garcia and Rama have yet to file their respective COCs.
Fernandez served as undersecretary of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) in 2012 during the time of then President Benigno Aquino III.
Fernandez also worked during the tenure of former President Corazon Aquino as chairman of the Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor.
The vice mayoral race will be a three-cornered fight if Association of Barangay Councils President Franklyn Ong of the opposition BOPK will file his COC for vice mayor. (JKV, PAC)