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Wednesday, March 24, 2004
Wenceslao: A different Osmeña
By BONG WENCESLAO
Call it coincidence. Call it karma. Whatever. Or one may go with the claim of the camp of Vice Gov. John Gregory Osmeña: that the controversies hounding him are the handiwork of his political rivals. One thing sure, however, is that these have affected not only his candidacy for governor but also the politically inclined members of his clan.
I used to think John-john would be different from the older political Osmeñas in the sense of being less of a trapo. He is young and brash and thus had the potential of veering away from the path his elders took. I now realize I was correct, but in another way. The controversies have painted John-john as moving to a different path.
Consider the first salvo, his contact with a web site operator accused of selling young Cebuanas through the Internet. The next hit: his coursing P5 million in public money through a bogus organization called Perdido Lex. Finally, his being linked to the shipment of 1.7 tons of pseudoephedrine, a shabu ingredient.
Piece the picture together and what do you get? In the first case, a person who lacks respect for women. In the second case, one who is either naïve or downright corrupt. And in the third case, one involved in a group that could be involved in the proliferation of shabu in Cebu. There, indeed, is one different Osmeña.
John-john could actually be innocent. But in long-drawn controversies where those involved clam up, perceptions harden, making these difficult to contradict. One doesn’t need to go far for examples. You have Sen. Panfilo Lacson whose alleged shenanigans have weighed down his bid to become the country's next president.
Thus, I could understand what John-john’s father, reelectionist Sen. John “Sonny” Osmena, is feeling. Sonny, for all his faults, did not go through this phase when he was a young politician. The same goes with the other Osmeñas like the former governor, Emilio or Lito, and the Cebu City mayor, Tomas. Either they were not as daring as John-john or they were wilier.
P.S. There was an interesting Text Reax exchange last week on the crusade of businessman Miguel Juan del Gallego to prove the innocence of the so-called Chiong 7, especially Francisco Juan “Paco” Larrañaga. Some texters, like Vic Baguio of Cordova, chided Mr. del Gallego. To be fair, I am running his e-mailed response (and this should be the last word on the matter):
“One of your readers asked why I am doing the crusade at this late hour. That is not exactly true. My daughters and I, together with their friends who where with Paco in Manila, came out in the open with a press conference even before the trial began.
“Also, unaware that the then chief prosecutor had his eyes set on being appointed deputy ombudsman and the other prosecutors as judges and another as NBI regional director, these young and idealistic adults went to see the same4 prosecutors and told them the truth, but they were not allowed to, citing some mumbo-jumbo court rules.
“Even before the actual trial, we could already see the judge convicting all the accused, just to satisfy the then strong public clamor for blood…So we laid all our hopes with the Supreme Court. Unfortunately, it made matters worse. So I was left with no choice but to come out once more in the open.
But this time with more aggressiveness and without fear until the truth is finally out and the perpetuators of this injustice exposed.”
(e-mail: khanwens@yahoo.com; text: 0927-4912362)
(March 24, 2004 issue)
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