Wednesday, January 11, 2006
Ex-city sports chief: No audit copy for mayor
By Rene H. Martel
CEBU CITY -- Jonathan Guardo will not provide Mayor Tomas Osmeña a copy of his liquidation report on the funds the Cebu Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee (CebuSOC) received.
If the mayor still wants the report, he will have to get it straight from Philsoc, the organizing committee based in Manila.
Osmeña has asked Guardo to submit an accounting to him, after complaining that Guardo allegedly used for the SEA Games some Cebu City Sports Commission (CCSC) funds intended for grass-roots sports.
Guardo was chairman of the CCSC when five events of the games were staged in Cebu from Nov. 25 to Dec. 5. He recently resigned after Osmeña accused him of fund misuse.
His replacement, pawnshop mogul Michel Lhuillier, asked in a press conference Tuesday for a chance to prove himself.
“When I’m challenged, I give my best. So just try me. Give me a chance,” he said.
He wished Guardo “good luck” in his foray into politics, and hoped the former CCSC chairman would be willing to lend a hand if needed.
Guardo, in a telephone interview, said the money CebuSOC received was from the PhilSOC and the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC), and not from the City Government.
So the financial statement should be submitted to the PhilSOC and the PSC, not to the City.
City Hall spent some P3.2 million on the accommodations of Team Phillipines’ members who were sent to Cebu.
But Guardo pointed out he did not see a single centavo of the amount since the money was handled by City Councilors Sylvan Jakosalem and Jocelyn Pesquera, who already liquidated the amount.
“Pwede ra si mayor mangayo. He can make a formal request with PhilSOC to get a copy of my report,” Guardo said.
He admitted failing to keep his word to finish the report last week, saying PhilSOC has yet to give CebuSOC P2 million, which was part of the P10 million it promised.
CebuSOC, he added, still owes hotels and caterers the amount.
PhilSOC can’t come up with a report yet, because it still owes its suppliers some P70 million, Guardo added.
PhilSOC intends to submit its financial statement by March 30 yet.
That means CebuSOC should be able to submit its own report before that date, but not in the next few days.
“Dili pa nato masirado ang libro kay wala pa man kahatag ang PhilSOC. (We can’t close the books yet, because we’re still waiting for PhilSOC’s funds.) In other words, we cannot submit that report now,” he said.
Told that Osmeña might get angry with him for not following his orders, Guardo said, “He has been mad at me for more than one month already.”
He also said that the administration must be wary of him because this early, two days after announcing he will run for Cebu City south district congressman, a lot of issues were already hurled against him.
“I can already see fear in their eyes. Akong advice nila, dili ihurot tanang issues tanan kay inig-abot sa election, basin hurot na, wala na silay pwede ipamasangil (My advice to them is, they shouldn’t use up all their issues against me, because they might lose steam once the election comes),” he said.
Although Guardo announced his political plans last week, it was hinted that these were part of the reason the mayor has been criticizing him since the games ended.
Guardo also accused City Councilor Raul Alcoseba of wanting the CCSC post, but the councilor, who was with Lhuillier during the press conference, denied it.
“It’s his opinion. But that’s not on my mind,” he said.
Lhuillier also said it is unfair for Guardo to say he will just be a “titular head” and that Alcoseba will really be the one running the CCSC.
“No doubt I will rely a lot on Councilor Alcoseba to help me. But to accuse me of doing nothing is unfair. I know how to delegate. I tell you I have more experience in running businesses. Just try me out,” he said.
He admitted he was queasy about the job, but will try to do well.
“It is true I’ve been nervous about this because this is something new. But I’m ready for it,” Lhuillier said.
He said he had a long talk with the mayor and took at least a week to weigh whether or not he will accept the offer to replace Guardo as CCSC chairman.
And though the mayor is now considering Guardo a political enemy, Lhuillier expressed willingness to work with him. He said he looks forward to working with Guardo in the future, adding they worked together during the time of the now-defunct Cebu Basketbal League. (Sun.Star Cebu/Sunnex)
(January 11, 2006 issue)
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