Home 
DESPITE his endorsement of Vice Mayor Michael Rama as standard bearer of the administration Bando Osmeña?Pundok Kauswagan (BO-PK), the local opposition believed Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña will drop him in favor of his wife Margot sometime soon.
Opposition congressional aspirant Jonathan Guardo said yesterday that Osmeña will drop Rama if Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) President Winston Garcia decides to run for mayor.
However the mayor refuted the businessman's claim and likened a possible face-off between Rama and Garcia to the recent title bout between Manny Pacquiao and Puerto Rican Miguel Cotto.
?With Winston Garcia's possible entry into the mayoral derby, I believe Osmeña will change course and field Margot for the mayorship. He will be forced to junk Mike Rama or ask him to run for congress in the south,? Guardo said in a text message to CEBU DAILY NEWS.
But Osmeña said there is no way the BO-PK will change their line-up, saying he is confident that like Pacquiao, Rama will knock out Garcia or anyone who will run against him.
?Mike Rama will knock out Winston. Like the Pacquiao ? Cotto fight, Cotto was the bigger man. Just like (Cotto) Winston has a billlion pesos. Just like Pacquiao beats up Mexicans, Mike Rama is a Garcia destroyer just like he clobbered Mr. Baruganan Raymond Garcia,? he said.
Raymond Garcia, son of former mayor Alvin Garcia ran against Rama in the last elections but fell short of 150,000 votes to the vice mayor.
Osmeña said he foresees next year's elections as a BO-PK fight against the Garcias.
?So in the next elections it will be the BO-PK vs One Family (Garcias) who believe they are One Cebu,? the mayor added.
But Guardo insisted that the GSIS president is a stronger candidate compared to Rama.
?I always believed that MYCT (Mike Rama ? Joy Young ? Cutie Del Mar ? Tomas Osmeña) slate is just a ploy. We in the opposition will monitor the developments. Let's see who blinks first,? Guardo said.
Garcia, the brother of Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia, recently transferred his registration to barangay Talamban in Cebu City.
Mayor Osmeña said the GSIS chief is considering to run for mayor based on a ?clamor? for him to do so.
?I guess there must be a wide clamor for the Garcias just like Atan (Guardo) and (Lahug barangay captain) Maryann (Delos Santos) who claimed earlier that there is a clamor for them to run for mayor and vice mayor,? Osmeña said.Reporter Marian Z. Codilla
