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Sunday, May 09, 2004
Osmeņa's uncle withdraws bid
CEBU -- On the last day the Comelec gave them to sway voters their way, gubernatorial candidates Celestino "Junie" Martinez Jr. and Vice Gov. John Gregory "John-john" Osmeņa met with leaders for last-ditch efforts and to assess their chances.
John-john got a boost when his uncle Jose Mari Osmeņa, a candidate of the Kilusang Bagong Lipunan, withdrew from the gubernatorial race Saturday.
In a sworn statement sent to Cebu Provincial Election Supervisor Edwin Cadungog, Jose Mari said he reached his decision to quit after "consultation with my party and my family and after realizing that I cannot sustain the necessary provincewide election expenses."
John-john had filed a disqualification petition against Jose Mari, arguing that his uncle can't wage a serious campaign, is a virtual unknown and is running only to "teach a lesson" to his nephew.
For his part, Cadungog said the development "clears up any confusion" in the counting of "Osmeņa" votes.
Jose Mari's withdrawal came just hours before the end of the official campaign period.
The period ended with a last-minute flurry of political ads and assemblies, with John-john announcing his uncle's withdrawal during a campaign sortie in Cordova Saturday night.
Gwendolyn Garcia chose to "spend this last day quietly," chatting with reporters, supporters and her campaign staff at her office at the Capitol.
On the other hand, John-john said in a phone interview that his last campaign day was hardly relaxing as he had to "deal with the situation" his father, Sen. John "Sonny" Osmeņa, apparently left when he opened certain areas to Martinez.
Aside from having to deal with rumors that he had shifted alliance from President Arroyo to Fernando Poe Jr. at the last minute or that he had withdrawn from the race, John-john said he spent the whole day in Tuburan town, "trying to get back barangay captains."
The rumors, including a detail that the vice governor was supposed to announce either of these two in a news conference, were heard even last Friday yet when Sonny was in town during the visit of President Arroyo to Cebu.
John-john dismissed these are "grossly exaggerated because nothing has changed between now and then."
Garcia, Martinez and John-john differed in their assessments of how they will fare in two of the districts but all agreed that:
* The second district will be Garcia's, although not by a big margin;
* The fourth district will be Martinez's by a landslide because of his family's hold there;
* The fifth district will be John-john's because of the support of the Durano family; and
* The sixth will be a toss-up between Garcia and Osmeņa.
Despite reports that Senator Osmeņa entered into a deal with Martinez that could harm his son's chances, Rep. Ace Durano is confident John-john will win by at least 65,000 votes in the fifth district. Danao City alone has 67,781 registered voters.
However, Medellin Vice Mayor Ricardo Ramirez, Martinez's spokesman, said the former congressman should not be counted out because they also have some leaders in the sixth district.
Ramirez related that only last Friday night in Consolacion, Rep. Nerissa Soon-Ruiz (Cebu, 6th district) pledged support for Martinez and no longer for John-john.
John-john admitted that because of the arrangement Sonny entered into with Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Arturo Radaza, he can no longer "expect the majority I was hoping for there."
Mandaue City, meanwhile, is Garcia's because of the support of Mayor Thadeo Ouano but John-john said he also has the backing of former mayor Alfredo "Pedong" Ouano and congressional aspirant Joy Ouano.
In the first district, Garcia expects to get some 65 percent of the votes although both John-john and Martinez said they have their own leaders too.
The third district, the three maintain, will give them a fair chance as well.
While it is traditionally John-john's because of his father's hold, both Garcia and Martinez also have a claim. Garcia's father, Gov. Pablo Garcia, used to be congressman there and has a following in Barili town.
Martinez, meanwhile, also gets a slice of the votes because his runningmate, Provincial Board Member Gregorio Sanchez, is from Tuburan. Karen M. Flores/With Elias O. Baquero
(May 9, 2004 issue)
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Arroyo increases poll lead, calls for end to 'hatred'