Tomas Osmeña

Tomas Osmeña
Member of the House of Representatives from Cebu City's 2nd district
Incumbent
Assumed office June 30, 2010
Preceded by	Antonio Cuenco
Mayor of Cebu City
In office June 30, 2001 – June 30, 2010
Preceded by	Alvin Garcia
Succeeded by	Mike Rama
In office June 30, 1988 – June 30, 1995
Succeeded by	Alvin Garcia
Personal details
Born	180px (1948-07-26) July 26, 1948 Manila, Philippines
Died	180px
Resting place	180px
Political party	Bando Osmeña - Pundok Kauswagan
Spouse	Margarita Lim Vargas
Children	Ramon Miguel Osmeña
Parent	180px
Alma mater	Xavier University - Ateneo de Cagayan
Profession	Mayor, Urban Planner, Agriculturist

Tomas "Tommy" de la Rama Osmeña (born July 26, 1948) is a Filipino politician currently serving as Congressman for the second district of Cebu City. Prior to his congressional term, he has also served as mayor of Cebu City from 1988 to 1995 and from 2001 to 2010.

Early life

Tomas is the son of the late Senator Sergio Osmeña Jr. and Lourdes dela Rama Osmeña, the grandson of former Philippine President Sergio Osmeña Sr. and the younger sibling of Senator Sergio Osmeña III. Married to Margarita "Margot" Lim Vargas, they have a son by the name of Miguel.

He spent his high school years in Sacred Heart School for Boys and allegedly earned his degree of Bachelor of Science in Agro-Economics from Xavier University - Ateneo de Cagayan, Cagayan de Oro City. He allegedly went on for further graduate studies in Finance, Management and International Trade in the University of California Los Angeles in the United States.

Business career

In 1972, he worked as the Vice-President in a Los Angeles-based company, SEROS, Inc. He also became a financial analyst for Foreign Credit Insurance Association, the exclusive operating arm of the Export-Import Bank of United States wherein he was engaged in the political and economic play of the export credit accounts of a number of major US banks and exporters across 12 western states.

For years, he also served as the Vice-President of the Apex Realty and Developers in California. He was selected Vice-President of the "Club Filipino" in Los Angeles, California.

Mayor

When he came back to Cebu in the year 1988, he vied for the mayoralty and won election without the backing of a party or endorsement by a national office.

In his first term, he became chairman of the Metro Cebu Development Project (MCDP). He acquired over P2 billion worth of foreign assisted projects for Metro Cebu.

In 1990, he was elected as the National Executive Vice-President of the League of City Mayors of the Philippines. On that same year, he was chosen as one of the Ten Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) in the Philippines by the Philippine Jaycees and the Gerry Roxas Foundation, Inc.

In the 1992 elections, he again won together with his Vice-Mayoralty candidate and fifteen of his sixteen party mates for the council seats. He was also elected President of the League of City Mayors of the Philippines to serve until the year 1995. He also accepted the position of being the Chairman of the Regional Development Council for Central Visayas.

Among his other projects is the South Reclamation Project. He also won several Galing Pook Awards.

Vigilante killings

The unsolved killings in the Philippines, including the spate of vigilante-style executions in Cebu City, have alarmed officials of the Commission on Human Rights.

The CHR said the unsolved summary executions in the country might affect the membership of the Philippines in the United Nations Human Rights Council.

After he expressed his concern on the increasing crime rate of Cebu City, he told the local media that he's willing to give rewards to persons who can kill criminals.

The series of vigilante–style killings started on December 22, 2004 and the victims are mainly those people who have criminal records.

The vigilantes are usually masked, ride a motorcycle in tandem, and use a gun to kill their targets

Since that day, at least 176 people have been killed vigilante style, mostly by men on motorcycles, armed with .45 pistols and with their faces covered.

Cebu City Police Office’s Chief Melvin Gayotin reported a reduction in crime by 22 percent.

But Cebu City Vice Mayor Michael Rama said the City Government shoulders P50 million in wages for casual employees detailed with CCPO and donated equipment yet the police failed to solve the summary killings.

The vice mayor was not happy with the report because even if the crime rate decreased, vigilante killings still continued.

South Reclamation Project

He had called then Talisay City Mayor Eduardo Gullas a landgrabber for staking a claim over 53.44 hectares of the South Reclamation Project (SRP).

Talisay City Attorney Aurora Econg earlier vowed that they will question any special patents or title that will be issued to Cebu City.

SRP Manager Nigel Paul Villarete, in an interview, dismissed Econg's claims that Talisay City is not claiming ownership, only jurisdiction.

Osmeña insisted that they are indeed after the ownership of the 53.44 hectare portion of the SRP.

The Cebu City Government is expected to pay 288,389,482 million yen or P150.28 million, a portion of the interest, to the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP), conduit for the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC).

The Cebu City Hall accounting records show the SRP loan has ballooned from the original P2.2 billion in 1996 to P4.33 billion in 2005.

Osmeña said that Cebu City has to forego the plan buying heavy equipments to develop roads in upland barangays, as it has to use the general funds for loan payments.

Unless Cebu City acquires special patents or titles for the SRP this year–and, after doing so, markets the reclaimed area to investors — it will continue tapping its general funds until year 2025 to pay for the loan.

Cebu City needs to raise funds in foreign currency by leasing the properties to investors. That way, if there are drastic changes in the foreign exchange rate, it will have enough to pay the loan.

Cebu City officials blamed difficulties in getting titles and delays in marketing the 295 hectare SRP on the Talisay City Government, which is disputing Cebu City's application for the titling of the said reclaimed land.

Talisay cityhood

The Cebu City Government, under the administration of Osmeña, filed a case against Talisay City on August 2004 for alleged irregularities in its becoming a chartered city, set the scenario for disputes on the South Reclamation Project (SRP). Osmeña & Wawa investigated demographics and land area which were used as basis for Talisay’s cityhood.

The municipality first applied for cityhood in 1998 and was granted a charter in 2002. Talisay City counsel Aurora Econg testified possessing supporting documents showing that Talisay’s cityhood is legal and official.

But with his move to keep the SRP, such documents were contested in the court.

Jurisdiction issues have since besieged the SRP when Talisay City claimed a 53.44-hectare portion of the project, claiming that it has encroached on the reclaimed land.

Talisay City, however, made the claim after the SRP was completed and ready for sale to investors.

Talisay City wants the portion back, but Cebu City will not budge and Osmeña has severed sister-city ties with Talisay City if only to keep the entire SRP intact.

Cebu City's plan to file a suit against Talisay on its alleged "sham cityhood" came as surveyors discovered that a municipal boundary monument — MBM 30 — said to belong to Talisay City, was right inside the SRP.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources, which conducted the survey, said MBM 30 is located before km. 10 of the SRP just after the second bridge as one approaches Cebu City from Talisay.

But on May 10, 2006, the Philippine Court of Appeals has dismissed Osmeña’s petition to nullify the cityhood of Talisay. The court pointed out that the "belated action" raises questions as to its motive.

The 17-page decision penned by Associate Justice Apolinario D. Bruselas Jr. of the court’s 18th Division, declared that Republic Act 8979, the law creating Talisay City, "does not suffer from any constitutional or statutory infirmities".

Health

In March 2002, Osmena collapsed due to hypertensive crisis which caused surgery and 2 months rest. He was treated for his aneurysm in 2002 at the Boston, Massachusetts General Hospital. On May, 2007, he underwent a minor operation due to swollen thigh because of punctures for an angiogram.

External links

• Tomas Osmeña's I-Site Profile