Fallout deepens as Bimbo quits Nestor’s transition team

Local

URBAN poor advocate Bimbo Fernandez has resigned as head of Mayor-elect Nestor Archival Sr.’s transition team.

He cited a lack of communication and warned that the emerging rift between Archival and former mayor Tomas Osmeña could worsen, possibly leading to deeper political fallout inside Bando Osmeña–Pundok Kauswagan (BOPK).

“I sent him my letter of resignation on June 24 after he ignored my request to see him,” Fernandez said.

Fernandez, the founder of the Pagtambayayong Foundation and longtime BOPK figure, confirmed that he decided to step away from Archival’s team after the mayor-elect refused to meet with him to discuss the controversial Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP) and Zoning Ordinance.

“I resigned because he would not personally meet with me to discuss the CLUP/ZO… Wala man gihapon siya nitubag so I presumed gidawat na. Bisan pa dili niya dawaton, wala siyay choice,” Fernandez said.

“I never received a reply from Nestor. I’ve been trying to talk to him and he does not want to talk to me. I’m available raman unta but saon taman,” he added.

The resignation comes just days after Archival quietly left the City Council session hall on June 25, moments before the council approved the CLUP and revised zoning ordinance on final reading, which Fernandez and various civil society groups had opposed.

“Ang among split ni Archival bahin man gud niini,” Fernandez explained. “I tried to convince him na dili lang usa ipadayon because we made a commitment. Niingon man siya nako nga sa 24 mi mag estorya so I tried to say him. I texted him nga mag storya mi but wala siya mutubag. Ang worse pa gyud sa meeting nga iyang gipatawag wala pa gyud siya nitunga, so I submitted my resignation.”

"Dili rana away namo ni Archival, away nasad ta ni Tomas Osmeña"

Fernandez emphasized that this is no longer just about him and Archival, but a potential collision between Archival and Tomas Osmeña himself.

“Anyway mao na problema ron, but ang problema ana ron dili rana away namo ni Archival, away nasad ta ni Tomas Osmeña and Archival,” he said.

Fernandez’s concern follows Osmeña’s own scathing remarks during a radio interview aired on June 26, where the former mayor admitted he felt betrayed by Archival and the BOPK after the zoning ordinance was passed without objections.

“I feel betrayed also… BOPK betrayed the urban poor… Nestor betrayed them… I would like to alienate myself from the BOPK because I promised to help the urban poor, and believe me, I will always help them,” Osmeña said.

Fernandez echoed the gravity of those words.

“Well si Tommy man gud, sa interview ni Jason, there were serious accusations against Nestor. Those were very serious and ambot lang mo reach out si Nestor kang Tommy despite everything, but kitang tanan we already know Tommy will not reach out. If dili mo reach out si Tommy, si Archival ang pangutana mo reach out?”

Still, Fernandez is hopeful the two leaders will put Cebu City first.

“Hinaot unta they will professionally magkahiusa sila for the good of Cebu City. Ang naka nindot ani both Tommy and Nestor reached out to vendors, I hope they will right the wrong,” he said.

“But ang ato ana whether Tommy or Archival will right the wrong or basin story storya lang ni to diffuse the tension that I raised… Naguol ko kay nagubot naman gud. Ang akoa lang nisaad man gud sila sa vendors,” Fernandez added.

Fernandez is not only worried about BOPK's internal cohesion, but he fears a prolonged Archival–Osmeña rift could spill over into Cebu City’s executive-legislative relations.

“Ang akong kahadlokan magpadayon ang away ni Nestor and Tommy and unya ang implication ana mabungkag ang BOPK, kana problema na sa BOPK, but ang problema if mag away ang executive and legislative, ang ma-sacrifice ana kitang tanan," he said.(TGP)