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Monday, March 29, 2004
John to tell NBI what aides know
CEBU -- Vice Gov. John Gregory "John-john" Osmeņa on Sunday denied talks that he is withdrawing from the gubernatorial race because of the issues raised against him.
John-john told Sun.Star in a phone interview that it would be "very chicken" of him to withdraw now, especially that his mother, Lucy Urgello-Miller, returned from the United States to support him.
"My mother didn't fly halfway across the world to watch me withdraw. She will stand up for me if it becomes too difficult for me to stand up for myself," he noted.
On the other hand, his father, reelectionist Sen. John "Sonny" Osmeņa has washed his hands off John-john's case by saying he (the senator) has lost "control" over his son.
Neither is lawyer Adelino Sitoy, his runningmate, considering withdrawing, John-john said further.
"If they want to beat me, they have to do it in the polls on May 10. I intend to vindicate myself and the election is one way of showing my vindication against these baseless accusations against me," John-john said.
There were already talks about alleged plans for him to withdraw on March 25 yet, the first day of campaign for local candidates.
He has set an appointment to see Director Reynaldo Esmeralda of the NBI 7 Tuesday at 11 a.m. so he can give his statement on the ongoing investigation on the shipment of 1,740 kilos of pseudoephedrine, an ingredient in the manufacturing of shabu.
John-john said he did not wait for the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) 7 to invite him because he wants to clear his name already in allegations that he is involved in Coastside Ventures Inc., the consignee of the controlled chemical shipment.
"This (the appointment) is at my instigation because I want to say my piece," he stressed.
The vice governor said he already "looked into" the alleged involvement of three of his staff members in Coastside Ventures and the role they played in its operation.
He will tell NBI 7 about what he found out.
He clarified that what he did was not an investigation but a mere "looking into" the cases of the three employees assigned in his office who have been named officers in Coastside documents with the Securities and Exchange Commision.
Osmeņa declined to reveal what he has found out so far because he would rather let the NBI clear him.
"The media has no power to clear me although all the accusations so far have only been in the media. These sniping attacks against me have been made from the cover of anonymity," he noted.
The vice governor would not say either if he conducted interviews or examined documents.
The 1,700 kilos of pseudoephedrine, which arrived in Cebu from China last March 5 and was seized by the Philippine Anti-Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) and the Bureau of Customs last March 17.
PDEA has declared illegal the shipment of pseudoephedrine, which if made into shabu will fetch P3.4 billion in the street market. The shipment lacks special import permit.
Vice Governor Osmeņa allegedly tried to mediate for the release of a shipment containing 60 drums of chemicals used in making shabu imported from China. KMF with Sunnex
(March 29, 2004 issue)
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