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Wednesday, March 24, 2004
Malilong: Go back, little John
By Frank Malilong, Jr.
The Other Side
I bumped into Sen. John “Sonny” Osmeña at a coffee house last week and teased him about being the candidate nobody in Cebu wanted to share the stage with. “Morag kahoy nga daghan og bunga” was how he described himself in explaining why so many local politicians, led by his own cousin, Mayor Tomas Osmeña, were throwing brickbats at him.
Waxing philosophical is something the senator couldn’t do, however, when it comes to talking about Vice Gov. John Gregory Osmeña. In his press statement, an obviously pained Sonny O admitted to having lost control of his son. “I have done my best. I cannot do any more.”
I spoke to Sonny about John-John when we met. I raised the possibility that his son could become governor of Cebu, whether he liked it or not. Sonny’s face hardened. He said his son faced an uphill battle against the Garcias who can now make use of Capitol’s vast resources because of John-john’s hardheadedness. “I told him to be wary about the Garcias but he embraced them and turned his back on me,” he said.
The senator was obviously referring to the time his son said he did not need his father to help him pursue his dream of becoming governor, belittling his father’s endorsement as a “kiss of death.” John-John at that time thought that he was Gov. Pablo Garcia’s heir apparent and considered his father’s advice irrelevant to his plans.
Father and son quarreled publicly, but when Garcia nominated his daughter Gwen to replace him, Sonny, like a dutiful father, came to John-john’s rescue, in the process reneging on his promise to support Junie Martinez, another aspirant for governor.
Sonny’s statement, however, indicates that the little ground he and his son gained towards restoring their relationship may have been lost. What precipitated it was the report that John-john allegedly intervened for the release from custody of the Bureau of Customs of a shipment of a chemical used in the manufacture of shabu.
“All of my life, I have guarded my name. It has never been sullied by such controversies,” Sonny moaned as he urged the authorities to speed up their investigation of the circumstances surrounding the shipment. Sonny said the allegations against John-john are hurting his candidacy.
That may be so, but his lament about his being caught in a no-win situation may have struck a sympathetic chord among parents who at one time or another have to contend with rebellious children. Suddenly, imperious Sonny has become someone they could identify with.
If there is anyone whose candidacy is hurt by the recent spate of allegations against him, it is none other than John Gregory Osmeña himself. His and/or his people’s alleged involvement in Perdido Lex, the Machanik affair and the pseudoephedrine shipment raise very serious questions about his fitness to handle the affairs of this premier province. No matter how you try to be charitable to John-john, the best image that you can have of him is of one so reckless in the choice of friends to keep or affairs to get involved in.
His lawyer and spokesman claims that the allegations against John-john were orchestrated by his political opponents, particularly the governor. The claim doesn’t wash. For all his perceived powers, I do not think Garcia wields that much influence in the local port of the Bureau of Customs where the district collector is best remembered as a tough soldier who participated in coup attempts. Col. Billy Bibit will not allow his people to perjure themselves just to accommodate the governor.
The problem is not Garcia; it is the young Osmeña himself. John-john is technically and legally an adult but he is not mature enough to swim on his own. He needs the steadying hands of his father for him to stay on course. Go back to your Dad, little John. He is hurting but he’s still your father and you’re his flesh and blood.
(March 24, 2004 issue)
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