Mar ‘looked down’ on inmates

LIBERAL Party (LP) vice presidential bet Mar Roxas had looked down on the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC) inmates when he likened the color of their uniform to Nacionalista Party’s (NP) campaign color, said Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia yesterday.

She said that it’s typical of Roxas.

“Murag naka-menos. Ni-look down sa atong mga inmates so that’s really typical of him. There he goes again. I don’t know nganong intrigesta kaayo na siya. Intrigero (He’s likes intrigues a lot),” she told reporters.

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Roxas, she said, has been known to make controversial statements.

The governor gave the reaction when asked about reports that One Cebu is really supporting the candidacy of NP standard bearer Manny Villar and not Lakas-Kampi-CMD standard bearer Gilberto “Gibo” Teodoro.

Garcia’s reaction came a day after NP vice presidential bet Loren Legarda visited her and revealed that the governor’s daughter Christina Codilla-Frasco and niece Esperanza Garcia are part of her campaign team.

Roxas, during a political rally of LP in Cebu last Feb. 27, said there will be more dancing inmates because of people in orange, referring to NP.

He added that NP candidates and CPDRC inmates should go together because they have one thing in common: they have wronged the government.

Last March 2009, Garcia said Roxas had sent her flowers on her birthday with the message “looking forward to a bright future together” while also calling her “gorgeous.”

When Roxas’ planned to run for president, Garcia was reportedly considered to be his running mate.

However, when the rift between the governor and Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña started, the governor issued a statement that she will not support the candidates that the mayor will support in 2010.

The mayor’s preferred presidential candidate then was Roxas and the governor described it as a “kiss of death.”

Legarda took the chance last Thursday to voice out her comments on her opponent’s statements on the CPDRC inmates, saying that it showed his ignorance and that he looks down on people.

“Masyadong mata-pobre at hinambing niya ang programa ni Gov. Garcia sa orange team. I don’t take it very well. Pinapakita nya na siya ay ignorante sa mga program ng provincial government.

Ang pagka-matapobre ni Mar ay lumalabas sa kanyang mga frivolous at petty na comments (He looks down on the poor),” Legarda said.

Capitol consultant on information and revenue generation Rory Jon Sepulveda earlier said that Roxas insulted Cebu’s “dancing inmates” when he placed them on the same level with senators, saying that some inmates at the CPDRC are still on trial and are not convicts yet.

He said that comparing them with those in the senate was an insult to some of the inmates who are looking for a chance at a new lease in life.