OPPOSITION leader and sports patron Jonathan Guardo yesterday assured the Cebuanos that he will not obstruct the development of the South Road Properties (SRP), contrary to what Mayor Tomas Osmeña is trying to tell the public.

He said that as a businessman, he sees the potential of the SRP as a good investment and that he will be more than willing to help the local government earn from it.

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“I’m a businessman. It’s part of my job to generate revenue.

And if (I am sitting in power), I will not block the sale and development of the SRP in the hope of generating billions for the city…,” he said. He added that he too knows many local and foreign investors.

Osmeña had said that he could not let somebody who is hostile to the administration win as south district congressman, which Guardo is eyeing.

Association of Barangay Councils (ABC) President Eugenio Faelnar, Guadalupe barangay captain, had said that the mayor will vie with Guardo for the post.

In a separate interview yesterday, Faelnar said that before the mayor left for the US last Sunday, he gave instructions for him to meet the south district barangay captains and get their concerns, particularly about the projects that they want the City to prioritize.

The requests, he said, will be attended to by the mayor when he returns on July 18.

He said Mayor Osmeña will be running for south district congressman, and will be the only one to run for a public office, as he will not allow his wife Margot and sister Maria Victoria (Minnie) to also run in the 2010 elections.

Faelnar, a close friend of the mayor, said that Minnie had told Tomas to be set on running for congressman and not be changing his mind lest he lose his credibility.
Mayor Osmeña is in the US for a follow-up checkup following his April surgery where his urinary bladder was removed because of cancer.

Also, Guardo yesterday denied the rumor that he is now thinking of running for vice mayor.

He said he is “dead set” on running for Congress no matter who the administration party Bando Osmeña Pundok Kauswagan will field. They’re spreading that rumor to project me as someone who’s scared.

He said that like him, Lahug Barangay Captain Mary Ann de los Santos is also sure about running to challenge Rachel “Cutie” del Mar the for north district congressional seat.

“It’s true we are the underdog, but we have worked hard for this. We’re all set, Mary Ann in the north and me in the south,” Guardo added.

He also said that it has dawned on him why the mayor has attacked Rep. Antonio Cuenco (Cebu City, south) for leaving for the US to seek medical attention for his vertigo at the height of the 2007 barangay elections.

Tomas was already ambitioning to run for the south district, Guardo said.

Cuenco is on his third and last term.

On the SRP, Guardo said the City has no money and badly needs the funds, which the SRP can provide once investors begin flocking there.

“I can see that the SRP will create opportunities for everybody. I see the economic value of the SRP. I will never block its development,” he said. (RHM)