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Tuesday, June 05, 2007
Cebu guv pledges P5 million for Lahug
By Minerva B. Gerodias & Linette C. Ramos
CEBU CITY -- Saying she felt for Barangay Lahug schoolchildren who are also Cebuanos, Governor Gwendolyn Garcia on Monday pledged P5 million for a school building whose construction was stopped on orders of Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña.
The pledge was made hours after Lahug Barangay Captain Mary Ann de los Santos formally launched the “Piso Mo, Eskwelahan Mo” fund-raising campaign to save the project.
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At the Provincial Board, members reacted to the governor’s pledge by passing a resolution authorizing her to donate the money, which she said she will take from her assistance to local government units’ fund.
Osmeña, in a press conference held before the governor announced her P5 million pledge, softened his stance a bit and said he will resume construction of the school building and give back the fuel subsidy that he also took away, next year.
But on one condition: de los Santos should request for it in writing.
The Lahug barangay captain, for her part, answered, “No, thank you.”
“Dili na lang ko. Nganong paludhon pa man ko niya? (I’d rather not. Why do I have to kneel down in front of him?) I would just try to work on it on my own kay basin mutukar na sad unya na siya, mauwaw ta nga ing-anion ta niya. (He might have another fit. We’ll just be embarrassed) If you give, you give without condition unta,” she said after learning about the mayor’s plan.
Osmeña, who apparently reconsidered after hearing that schoolchildren in the barangay asked for the classrooms when classes started Monday, said he wants something he can show Lahug residents in case de los Santos again claims that he did not give their barangay any project.
“They will get their building but I don’t think it will be done this year. Let her raise funds for her school building and what she cannot raise, I will cover... All they have to do is ask for it in writing, stating `Can I please have this?’ and that’s fine, you will get it,” he said.
The US$100 bill and a P1 coin donation of a four-year-old Filipino-American girl was one of the first donations that came in Monday.
Although she would not apologize for saying she did not directly get projects from City Hall, de los Santos did say she hopes the mayor will reconsider his decision and spare the children in Lahug from his anger.
“During the elections, you get emotional. Kung naay mga tawo na napasakitan nako (if I hurt anyone), I’m sorry. Let’s forget that and let’s move on,” she said Monday.
Governor Garcia, meanwhile, said that extending financial assistance to Lahug is Capitol’s way of saying that it is willing to help those in need, contrary to insinuations that the Province is only after business and money-making ventures, like its move to recover properties in Cebu City.
Among the properties that Capitol will be recovering under Ordinance 93-1 are in Lahug.
Garcia said Capitol will directly negotiate with barangay officials after City Government efforts to iron out the problem became did not work.
As for the P5-million pledge, she said they are only waiting for a barangay resolution so they can release the amount.
“While it is true that Barangay Lahug is within the territorial jurisdiction of the City of Cebu and far be it from me, as I’ve always been saying, to infringe upon territorial jurisdiction. However, the schoolchildren are Cebuanos as well and I am sure that the constituents of the Province who are Cebuanos would not begrudge this assistance to our brother and sister Cebuanos,” she said.
When told that her move might be construed as her way of getting back at the mayor whom she tangled with in the land swap and Ciudad controversies, the governor merely said she doesn’t care.
Garcia said she has been giving financial assistance to other provinces, so there is more reason to help Lahug.
Besides, she said education has always been her priority. In fact, the Capitol is currently building 200 classrooms for different schools in the province, she said.
With Capitol’s pledge of donation, de los Santos is confident she can start constructing the P15-million administrative building for the Lahug Elementary School.
In a phone interview Monday afternoon, she said she will try to raise the money so the school building can be completed as soon as possible.
“His (the mayor’s) announcement is a welcome move, but the children cannot wait until next year. We will just continue to build the school on our own and I think we can start already with the P5 million from Capitol. I am overwhelmed by the governor’s gesture of help. For me, it’s unthinkable and unimaginable,” she said.
The money that should have gone into the project in Lahug will now be used for the construction of classrooms in Talamban and in other barangays.
“I know this is not a popular move on my part but it’s important for the people of Lahug to realize what the City Government is doing for them. If I didn’t take this stand, they would not know that there is a project for them. The mayor was simply reacting to her statements,” he said.
A letter de los Santos circulated among her constituents during the campaign angered the mayor, who said it was not only an insult to the City Government but also a lie made to Lahug residents.
In the letter, de los Santos said: “In the last two elections, we defeated Mayor Osmeña in Lahug. He cannot forgive or forget that. For this humbling experience, he has never extended aid to our barangay in any manner.”
De los Santos told reporters she will not apologize for circulating the letter nor will she take her statements back.
“If naa koy nasulti na nakapasakit sa mayor and sa ubang tawo (If I said something that hurt the mayor and other people), I am sorry for that. But I will not apologize for the letter in particular. I will never take back what I said there, so I will never apologize for it,” the barangay captain said.
De los Santos further said that if the mayor initiated any project in Lahug, these were not coursed through her barangay, including the asphalting of roads in Beverly Hills and the construction of a P10-million bridge there.
Osmeña also reminded de los Santos and Lahug residents that he was prepared to turn over a P450-million City-owned prime lot for illegal occupants of provincial lots in the city.
“I think that at some point, she has to be held accountable for all her statements. If she were just an ordinary resident, there’s no problem. But when she talks as barangay captain, she is in a position of public trust. Now she has this 'piso-piso.’ It’s fine with me but she just wants other people to pay for her lies, to pay for her pride,” said the mayor. (Sun.Star Cebu)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Baguio. (June 5, 2007 issue)
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