Friday, March 16, 2007 Sorry, says Tomas to Lahug barangay chief
CEBU City Mayor Tomas Osmeña yesterday apologized to Lahug Barangay Captain Mary Ann delos Santos for dragging her father into his political tirades.
An upset delos Santos said it was irresponsible and ill-mannered of the mayor to think she would be pursuing her candidacy to relieve her family from financial problems.
“I’m sorry if it upset her but I was just trying to speculate on some of the reasons that might make her decide to run. There was no malice intended,” Osmeña said during his news conference yesterday.
Last Wednesday, Osmeña said he speculated that delos Santos will welcome financial support from other politicians to relieve her family from financial pressure.
Delos Santos’ 82-year-old father is seriously ill and his medications cost the family a lot of money, the mayor said.
But yesterday, Osmeña said he was just responding to questions raised by some reporters on what he thought about delos Santos’ meeting with the Ouano family at her residence in Lahug.
“Tell her I wish her father will get better. I didn’t mean to upset her, but I was just wondering why she didn’t reject the financial offer from Guardo. I was just speculating on that and why the Ouanos, who are involved in deep controversy, will come to her house,” he said.
Jovita “Joy” Ouano announced last Wednesday that she will not run against her nephew Jovito “Jonkie” Ouano in the mayoralty race in Mandaue City, after delos Santos mediated to resolve a feud within the Ouano family.
Joy made the announcement three weeks after she personally went to Osmeña’s residence to ask for his blessing for her planned candidacy.
He did not give his blessing because “there’s nothing that I can do.”
The meeting with the Ouanos last Wednesday was held amid speculations that delos Santos would be running for Cebu City mayor, with a P5-million initial funding from south district congressional candidate Jonathan Guardo.
“I have a great deal of respect for her father because he was a supporter of my father and I have nothing against her father at all. With all due respect to him, I don’t wish him to be sick. I can understand that with the circumstances, anyone will be upset. It was not my intention but if she’s upset, I’m sorry,” Osmeña said yesterday.
But in a phone interview last night, delos Santos said she’s undecided whether or not to accept the mayor’s apology, since it was not only her whom the mayor hurt with his comments.
She said that she didn’t hear the mayor’s apology herself, which was aired over radio stations and television news yesterday.
“I’m not only upset. I’m very, very upset. The whole family is upset. It’s a very irresponsible statement coming from a mayor, who’s a very irresponsible person. He can never empathize with what I’m going through because he doesn’t have family ties,” delos Santos told Sun.Star Cebu.
“I haven’t heard it myself so I cannot say right now if it was said with sincerity or it’s for public consumption. I still have to assess it,” she continued.
Delos Santos said her family does not rely on politics for their subsistence, and that she and her seven other siblings are professionals who can spend for their father’s medications.
“How about the mayor? Take away politics from him, what profession is he left with? If you take his position from him, can he sustain his lifestyle?” she added. (LCR)
