Monday, February 12, 2007 Nalzaro: A pot calling a kettle black By Bobby Nalzaro Saksi
MAYOR Tomas Osmena accused former Cebu City Sports Commission chairman and businessman Jonathan ‘Atan’ Guardo of premature election huge spending to entice barangay officials and voters to support his congressional bid in the south district against Rep. Antonio Cuenco. Tomas said Guardo has been throwing money left and right ‘buying’ some barangay officials loyal to Bando Osmena Pundok Kauswagan (BOPK). Those who already shifted their support to Guardo for sure had received considerable amount from the aspirant.
But Tomas said what Guardo is doing is a blessing in disguise because it will be a cleansing process within his political camp to determine who his true friends and supporters are and whose loyalty cannot be bought by money. Well, I don’t know Guardo personally and his assets. I know him as a sports patron and a businessman. His family owns the Osaka Iridology chain and is into medicinal and herbal manufacturing business.
Granting that Guardo is into ‘buying spree’ to firm up his candidacy, what’s the big fuss? Tomas should not be worried because Guardo is using his own money, not the taxpayers’. Is Tomas’ camp threatened by Guardo’s political strategies? We cannot blame Guardo of huge spending because he is challenging an incumbent and a very formidable opponent.
Pero nagpagoryo-goryo lang ni si Tomas. He is just pretending to be ignorant of the political reality in this country. As if he is not doing it too.
In the previous elections, Tomas and his BOPK also did a similar political strategy especially during their close rivalry with former mayor Alvin Garcia. Even at the start of the campaign period, Tomas accommodated thousands and thousands of his supporters at his residence in Guadalupe offering them free food and beverages. Didto mamahaw, maniudto ug manihapon ang iyang mga supporters.
Isn’t it a form of ‘vote buying’? I was informed that days before election day, BOPK’s campaign staff and their barangay leaders went house to house to remind voters what precinct they would vote in with few hundred pesos attached to the voter’s forms.
And what about the giving of Philhealth cards to his selected political supporters? Isn’t it another form of bribing voters? And where does Tommy get his financial resources to wage his re-election campaign? Is he the one personally spending for his entire slate? How much is his salary and income?
Oh, come on Mayor Tom. Stop accusing Guardo of huge spending because you and your BOPK party and any politicians for that matter are also doing it. Karon gamay lang ka og gasto kay wala man kay klarong kontra. It’s a case of a pot calling the kettle black.
