CAPITOL consultant Byron Garcia denied being kicked out of the VIP section of the grandstand of the Cebu City Sports Complex last Sunday.
Garcia also said he wasn’t snubbed by Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña. He said the mayor was just “shocked” to see him.
Garcia said he was escorting “very important visitors” to the VIP Section, as he had six tickets that were given to the Office of the Governor.
With him were Sony Studios vice president Fritz Friedman, Michael Jackson choreographer Travis Payne and two Jackson back-up dancers from the late pop star’s “This is It” film. Friedman was with a documentary crew who was following Garcia.
Garcia, though, would not say if he was a subject of a new documentary from Sony films.
But Osmeña said he actually asked those without VIP tickets to leave the VIP Section, including Garcia.
The mayor said he talked to Garcia’s group after recognizing a long-time friend.
“Well, I just told the other guys don’t keep standing there, you’re blocking the way. I didn’t talk to Byron... He came with about eight of them and I recognized one of them, an old friend of mine. But the others were just standing there blocking the way and I said you just can’t stand here... and none of them had any passes,” he said.
He told reporters yesterday that he didn’t care if Byron was with dance choreographers from Hollywood.
On another VIP-ticket related incident, Cebu City Vice Mayor Michael Rama refused to answer the stinging words his mayoral race opponent Georgia Osmeña said against him for not receiving a VIP pass for the Sinulog Grand Parade.
Rama is the overall chairman of the Sinulog 2010 and chairman of the Sinulog Foundation Inc. (SFI), which organizes the annual celebration.
“This is a political period. As far as I’m concerned, this is (about) politics. No comment. Of course, what would you expect an opponent to say?” he said.
Georgia, younger sister of Mayor Osmeña, was not given a VIP pass to the grandstand in last Sunday’s Sinulog Grand Parade.
On the incident with the mayor, Garcia said he and his visitors stayed at the VIP Section for about three minutes because the back-up dancers preferred staying at the rubberized track because it is nearer the stage and they could dance if they wanted to.
Before they went down, Garcia said he greeted Osmeña at the VIP section.
“Uy, mayor! Kumusta na, dong (Hey, mayor! How are you, boy)?” he recalled telling Osmeña. Osmeña did not reply, he said.
“He was shocked, either because of how handsome I am or because I was there even if he is not in good terms with my sister (Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia).”
Garcia called Osmeña a liar for claiming he and his guests were kicked out.
Garcia said he has the tapes to prove that he was not kicked out and that the mayor was shocked with his greeting.
“He’s a liar and an attention-seeker. Sumbagay lang ta, mayor (Let’s just have a fist-fight, mayor),” he said.