TWO Cebuanos, both of them Osmeñas, running for a seat in the Senate may lessen their chances of winning, that is why former senator Sergio “Serge” Osmeña III questioned former Cebu Gov. Emilio “Lito” Osmeña’s motives in running for senator.

Serge and Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña believe that few voters would vote for two Osmeñas for the same position, which could affect Serge’s candidacy. But their cousin Lito believes otherwise.

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In an interview yesterday, Serge said he thinks that Lito is only getting back at him for his decision to run for vice president under the Liberal Party in 1998, the same year that Lito ran for president under his Promdi party.

The former senator said that Lito is welcome to join the senatorial race, and he will believe his cousin’s decision when he files his certificate of candidacy (COC).

He said, though, that he is curious why Lito is running for senator when he has been out of the country for the past 10 years.

“Nganong nidecide man siya mudagan karon? Since he has not been in the country for a long time, his chances of winning are not good. If I were to speculate, I think he’s just getting back at me for running for vice president in 1998. He hasn’t forgotten that,” said Serge, who filed his COC as an independent senatorial candidate last Wednesday.

He agreed with his brother that few voters would vote for two Osmeñas, that is why he questioned Lito’s intentions for running.

Serge said that Lito may just be getting even this time.

“He ran for president in 1998, and I decided to run for vice president with Mayor Alfredo Lim. He didn’t like it because people would not vote for Osmeña-Osmeña, he felt it affected his chances of becoming president. But of course that’s not the reason, everybody really wanted Erap that time,” he explained.

In an interview yesterday, Lito said he wants to get as many Cebuanos and Visayan-speaking voters to support his first senatorial bid, so he can bring the Ceboom success to other areas of southern Philippines that are still deprived of progress and development.

Banking on “ethnic” support of all Bisaya voters, and a “revolt” from the south to have representation in the Senate who can bring progress, Lito thinks he will win in next year’s elections.

He said yesterday that he decided to run to have the clout to realize his goal of having “zero tolerance to graft” in all levels of government, and to offer to other regions what he has given Cebu when he was governor from 1988 to 1992.

Lito, 71, said he was inspired by the hope for change that presidential aspirant Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino represents, but he has not decided yet if he would support the senator.

He said he will support lawyer Hilario Davide III’s gubernatorial bid, but not the reelection bid of Vice Gov. Gregorio Sanchez Jr., who he said messed up the proposed transaxial road project.

“The only way I feel I can have clout is to become a candidate.

Then when I made my calculations, I hate to live in Manila but I have a very strong feeling that I might have to because I will win this one. Suko na kaayo ang mga Bisaya, biya na gyud kaayo ta (The Visayans are disappointed because we’re being left behind),” Lito said yesterday.

He is scheduled to file his COC at the Commission on Elections (Comelec) Manila office this Sunday as the lone candidate of his party, Promdi.

“And I have a story that nobody else can tell. I have succeeded in motivating a part of this republic into becoming super producers. The Republic of Cebu. That’s what I hope to become before my six years are over, the equivalent of the Republic of the Cebuano-speaking region,” he continued.

This early, however, party affiliation is beginning to be a problem for local officials whose support Lito wants to get.

Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña said Lito’s candidacy will cause him problems, since he will not be able to do for his cousin what he will do for his brother Serge.

Tomas’ Bando Osmeña Pundok Kauswagan (BOPK), which formed an alliance with the Liberal Party (LP), will junk LP bet former senator Ralph Recto to accommodate Serge.

“Now I have a problem. Number one, Serge is going to run so naturally Lito’s candidacy will affect him because few voters will vote for two Osmeñas. Second, I already committed to support LP... I can’t junk another LP candidate to accommodate Lito because I represent LP in the City,” the mayor said in a radio dyHP interview.

If he supports Lito, this means that he would have to abandon his chairmanship of LP in the city, “which I don’t like to do.”

He admitted feeling bad about Lito’s decision, but said he would think it over to decide how he can help his cousin.

But for Lito, he and Serge would complement each other.

“I think it’s complementary. I don’t believe it will adversely affect any of us if we both run. But if he runs, I will vote for him... What’s the difference? We’re all going to serve. The Cebuano speaking areas have zero representative. I wish more Cebuanos would run,” he said.

Lito confirmed that he has been asked by local officials to run for governor against Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia, but he did not do so because he felt that he has already done everything he can for the province.

If elected senator, he will lobby for the expansion of the Mactan airport, construction of a freeway from Daanbantayan town to Santander and the transaxial highway, improve communications and transportation infrastructure for Cebu and other parts of Visayas and Mindanao.

He also wants to bring in more investors to address the need for more jobs and peace and order.

Aside from his campaign on zero tolerance for graft, he also wants to make sure the government’ limited resources are poured on projects and programs that have high returns and added value, which he said the governor failed to do.

He criticized Gov. Garcia for misusing the Province’s funds for questionable projects.

Lito also said that the P2 billion the Province earned from the sale of Cebu Property Ventures and Development Corporation (CPVDC) shares is almost gone, “and almost half, if not more than half was misused.”

“I’m especially displeased because I think she wasted resources that she brags about, which she never raised for the Province... P100 million was used for buying the

Balili lot, and almost P800 million for the CICC, which she lied about... and it’s still white elephant. How many sick people could have been cured with that money?” he added.

But the CICC and the Balili properties were projects in accordance with the Province’s vision, Capitol consultant Rory Jon Sepulveda said.

“To those who disagree, we cannot expect unanimity but we maintain that the projects are necessary and desirable,” he added.

Sepulveda though said that anybody can criticize the Capitol, including Lito. (LCR with JGA)

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on November 28, 2009.