|
Monday, February 19, 2007
No more 1 million lead for Arroyo bets: Sonny O.
By Linette C. Ramos
CEBU CITY -- A vigilant opposition in Cebu will not give President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's Team Unity what she got here in the 2004 elections: a margin of up to one million votes, former senator John Henry "Sonny" Osmeña said.
Local officials' pledge to blacklist senatorial candidates who will support Sugbuak bills also did not threaten him, as Osmeña announced he will vote for them at the Senate if he wins in the elections.
Post your Valentine's Day greetings
In a press conference Sunday, Osmeña, who wants to return to the Senate after his loss in 2004, said the opposition in Cebu and the rest of the Cebuanos will not allow cheating and vote-padding in the May 14 elections.
"The President came to Cebu to ask Cebuanos to give the same support they gave her in 2004. And I will tell you, it's not going to happen again because we'll be very vigilant and we won't allow them to cheat in the same way they did in 2004," he told reporters Sunday.
His pronouncement came a day after the administration's senatorial candidates wooed the Cebuanos in their first campaign rally, with the President in tow.
Padded?
While Osmeña admitted that Arroyo won in Cebu in the 2004 elections, he claimed that her margin was actually only 200,000 votes.
The remaining 800,000 votes were just added, he alleged.
Because he was rushing to the airport to catch his flight, he didn't have time to explain how and where the vote-padding was done. He promised to discuss it with the media when he comes back next week.
Osmeña also did not show documents to prove his allegations during a press conference at the Waterfront Mactan Hotel and Casino Sunday morning.
President Arroyo gained 1,185,690 votes in Cebu in 2004, or some 1,002,000 more than her closest rival, the late actor Fernando Poe Jr. Nationwide, Arroyo's margin was about 1.1 million votes.
As early as June 2004, Osmeña already announced some doubts over the results in Cebu.
Split Cebu
During Sunday's press conference, Osmeña said he will not hesitate to vote for the bills to create more Cebu provinces when these reach the Senate, but the decision to move these bills forward will rest on its proponents, and not the senators.
"I will not block it. I will respect the decision of the congressmen but it's not my decision to make but theirs. I will vote for it, I'll tell you. It's not my style to avoid certain issues," he said.
Osmeña made his stand despite Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia and Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña's statements that they will not support candidates who will not sign a manifesto that they will oppose the split-Cebu bills.
"Everyone is free to impose any restriction or condition on their support, that's their prerogative. Makita ra bitaw na nato. I have absolute faith in the wisdom of the voters of Cebu," the former senator continued.
Osmeña said that from what he heard, only two senatorial candidates have signed the manifesto so far: Edgardo Angara and Miguel Zubiri.
Before joining the reporters, the former senator also met with Cebu Provincial Board Member Luigi Quisumbing, his grandfather Norberto and Lakas spokesperson for the Visayas Elberto Emphasis.
In separate phone interviews Sunday, Luigi said they just got together with the former senator, who is "a very close friend" of his grandfather.
They simply briefed each other on the local political scenario, he said. He also would not confirm speculations that he will run for congressman in the sixth district, saying he is still busy at the Provincial Board.
Emphasis, for his part, said political movements in the sixth district were discussed, but he refused to disclose the details at this time. The group will hold a press conference later this week to announce their moves, he said. (Sun.Star Cebu)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Manila. (February 19, 2007 issue)
Write letter to the editor. Click here.
Join the Sun.Star message board. Click here. |
|
|
|
[return to top]
[home]
|
|
