|
Friday, February 13, 2004
They want Sonny out of Gloria rallies in Cebu
By Karen M. Flores & Rose O. Verzosa
Sun.Star Staff Reporters
NOT only is reelec-tionist Sen. John “Sonny” Osmeña unwelcome in Lakas-CMD’s sorties in Cebu and Mandaue cities, one faction of the party in Cebu is also unwilling to host him in any of the administration ticket’s rallies in the province.
Gwendolyn Garcia, who is running for governor under the Lakas banner, yesterday said she and more than 20 Lakas mayors are joining Mandaue City Mayor Thadeo Ouano in protesting Osmeña’s presence in any of the rallies that President Arroyo will attend in Cebu Province.
Further, Garcia said they will be junking Osme-ña in the K-4 ticket and “in all probability” will adopt a substitute to fill in the 12th slot in the line-up.
Their support for the Lakas senatorial candidates “does not extend to Osmeña.”
“Dili lang sa Mandaue, mangita siya’g bukong kabarugan dinhi sa Sugbo (He will have to look for something to stand on here in Cebu),” Garcia said in a news conference yesterday.
When the K-4 staff comes to Cebu to organize the rally scheduled for Feb. 27, Garcia said she will tell them “in very clear terms, kanang masabtan nila that were are one with Mayor Ouano in opposing Senator Osmeña.”
Sonny, however, is not entirely alone in Cebu. Three of six incumbent House lawmakers in Cebu Province are allies of the veteran politician, who has also served as OIC mayor of Cebu City and as congressman.
Old grudge
President Arroyo can ask them to reconsider their stand but Garcia said it will be up to them to decide.
“Sonny will not be welcome on our stage. He is not expected and he will not be allowed in our campaign. Ug ipugos niya iyang kaugalingon, mauwawan unya siya (If he insists on coming onstage, he may only end up embarrassed),” she said.
Besides, she pointed out that the senator may not want to appear onstage with them anyway, as he even set as a condition that the Garcia family should be booted out of Lakas before he considers joining the senatorial ticket as a guest candidate.
Garcia also said many voters have not forgotten a statement Osmeña made shortly after the proclamation of former president Joseph Estrada, who came a distant second in 1998 to Lito Osmeña in Cebu, that Cebuanos will have to suffer for not supporting Estrada.
“Wa pa mi kalimot atong ni-ingon siya nga pagpuasa mo,” she noted.
For his part, Mayor Ouano yesterday clarified that President Arroyo is free to bring along anybody in her campaign, but warned that Senator Osmeña might get embarrassed if he goes up onstage with her in Mandaue City.
‘Delicadeza’
Although his administration is supporting Arroyo and the Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD), Ouano told the President that they will not campaign for Sonny.
Ouano considers the senator his bitter enemy, whom he accused of blocking projects and funding for Mandaue.
Ouano, Lakas-CMD’s sixth district chairman, can’t campaign for Sonny’s son, gubernatorial candidate and Vice Gov. John Gregory “John-John” Osmeña, either, because they have already committed their support to Gwendolyn Garcia.
Ouano said he was misquoted in another paper, which reported him as saying that he will be forced to junk Arroyo as well if she insists on bringing Sonny with her to Mandaue.
Unlike Mayor Tomas Osmeña, who is banning Sonny during the campaign rallies in Cebu City, Ouano said he cannot do that.
“I cannot say no to the President so I hope Sonny himself will have the delicadeza not to join her during her campaign in Mandaue. If he insists on doing so, then I’m afraid the crowd might boo him and he will just get embarrassed,” Ouano said in Cebuano yesterday.
As for his choice of Gwendolyn over John-John, Ouano said President Arroyo knew about it a long time ago and she had no choice but to respect his stand.
The mayor and his group still have to meet and decide whom they will support for senator, as replacement for Sonny’s slot.
(February 13, 2004 issue)
Write letter to the editor. Click here.
Join the Sun.Star message board. Click here. |
|
[return to top]
[home]
[network page]
|
LOCAL NEWS
BUSINESS
OPINION
SPORTS
LIFESTYLE
FEATURE
SUPERBALITA
WEEKEND
|
