AN official of One Cebu Party yesterday said they have strong evidence that will convict Rep. Tomas Osmeña (Cebu City, south district)on a criminal case filed before the Commission on Election (Comelec) by Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia.
Capitol consultant Rory Jon Sepulveda said the governor is confident the Comelec, after conducting a preliminary
investigation, will file the case against Osmeña in court so he will face trial for election offenses in relation to the billboards put up at the South Road Properties (SRP) in Cebu City, where he served as mayor.
The complaint, received by the Comelec law department in Manila last June 4, accused Osmeña of committing at least six separate and distinct counts of election offenses defined under Section 261 (0), Batas Pambansa Bilang 881; and Sections 3 and 9 of Republic Act 9006 or Sections 8 and 21 of the Comelec Resolution 8758.
Sepulveda, who gave reporters copies of Garcia’s complaint against Osmeña, said if the former mayor-turned-congressman will be convicted of the crime, he will face imprisonment and will be banned from holding public office for life.
But Osmeña doesn't see anything wrong with the signages that were put up at SRP before the election, saying they were not used as a political propaganda against Garcia.
Osmeña also denied being the one behind the putting up of the signages.
“She is concerned about a sign and go to jail? Doesn't she care about what she did, buying property that is underwater using P100 million of the people's money? She should be the one to join her dancing prisoners. How can she ignore the recent rejection of her constituents from Talisay all the way to the south?” he said yesterday, referring to the P98-million Balili property that Capitol purchased.
“In the first place, I did not put the sign myself but we enjoyed it very much. Is that a crime?” Osmeña added.
One of the signages installed at the SRP read: This way to S.U.P. (South Underwater Properties)—apparently a dig at the Balili lot controversy wherein Capitol purchased properties that were partly underwater in the City of Naga.
Another read: “A proud blunder of Gov. Gwen Garcia ‘I’m sorry,’” and another read, “Your provincial taxes at work!”
Contrary to what people said, he does not believe the signs were against Garcia.
These were also not political propaganda, he said, because these were installed in Cebu City, where Garcia was not a candidate for any local position.
He also asked why it would be considered a crime to name the officials who initiated projects that are allegedly anomalous, when there are infrastructure projects and government properties bearing the sign “This project is through the efforts of...”
“Oh, it's not an anti-Gwen signage. It's simply factual. Let the reader judge. Is it or is it not her project? Did she not say I'm sorry? Didn't she use government funds? I don't think it can even be technically called political propaganda, because the signs were installed in Cebu City, where she was not a candidate,” Osmeña added.
Garcia, in her complaint, said about eight days before the May 10 elections, three billboards, about four feet by 12 feet, were installed on the center island of the road SRP allegedly per Osmeña’s orders.
The complaint added Osmeña openly admitted the billboards were installed upon his orders and instructions.
Garcia, in her complaint, added the installation of the signage on a highway “clearly served no other purpose than to openly and publicly humiliate, ridicule, defame, discredit and incite public contempt” for her. She was seeking reelection as governor for her third and last term.
Sepulveda said they attached in the complaint the affidavits of witnesses, pictures of the signage/billboards and published news items, where Osmeña admitted he was the one who ordered the installation of the billboards. (EOB/LCR)