Rama Inattentive On Osmena’s Claim to Win in Elections

Cebu City reelectionist Mayor Michael Rama did not give so much attention to the announcement made by his challenger Cebu City South District Representative Tomas R. Osmeña that Rama is behind in political surveys in most of the city barangays.

“We will not discuss that issue because in my own survey, I am also winning in almost all barangays because I have in my side most of the barangay captains and councilmen,” Rama told the reporters.

But the 65-year old Osmeña who wished to be elected again as mayor on the forthcoming May 13 national and local elections, said while Rama has more allies among the city’s barangay captains, but these barangay officials can’t deliver votes for his opponent.

Osmeña said he is not worried that his main political opponent has the support of 42 of the 80 barangay captains in the city because his survey shows that Rama, who used to be his vice mayor for nine years from 2001 to 2010, is “heavily losing in several barangays of Cebu City.

The lawmaker said most of the barangay captains, particularly those from the mountain barangays, supported Rama because each of them were issued brand new expensive service vehicles.

Osmeña said in his latest survey using 1,270 respondents from the 17 mountain barangays of the city’s north district, shows that 11 of the barangay captains are allied with Rama and only six of them are with him.

But the lawmaker said the survey results are so interesting because he got 53 percent while Rama only has 41 percent, and the six percent are undecided.

Osmeña said his running mate reelectionist Vice Mayor Joy Augustus Young is leading with 52 percent votes while his opponent Councilor Edgardo Labella only got 34 percent.

But Labella just smiled and said he is already assured of the support not only from the barangay officials, but from the residents of the mountain barangays.

In the same survey, Osmeña’s congressional candidate for north district Raul V. Del Mar got 86 percent votes as against six percent that goes to his opponent Annabelle Rama of the Team Rama.

Osmeña said while several barangay captains of the mountain barangays are supporting Rama’s reelection bid, they failed to deliver votes for Rama and his other candidates.

“Sigi lang, akong sultihan ang mga kapitan sa gisulti sa akong kaatbang aron hagiton sila nga iprobar nila nga sayup ang iyang gisulti,” Rama said. (It’s okay, I’ll tell the barangay captains what my contender had said so they will be challenged to prove that what he said is wrong.)

Osmeña said of the 12 mountain barangays of the city’s south district where Osmeña is representing in Congress, nine barangay captains are with Rama, but he said the survey results showed that Rama is losing in nine barangays.

The lawmaker admitted he is “losing heavily” in Barangay Pamutan, but he did not mind it because Pamutan only has few voters with three precincts.