Tom won’t heed call for him to say sorry

“Baga ilang nawong. Unsa ako sala nga nasunog ilang simbahan? Nganu man ako mu apologoize?”

This was what Mayor Tomas Osmeña told the provincial officials, who demanded that he apologize for allegedly insulting Governor Gwendolyn Garcia and the Provincial Capitol for his statement after the Oslob parish church was gutted down.

The mayor said that the provincial government should be the one to apologize to the people of Oslob, because they have given defective fire trucks to the town.

“Sila mismo mag-apologize sa ilang constituents. Di sila mauwaw, naghatag kuno provincial government og mga fire trucks, nigawas guba ila fire trucks. Unya, ako pa mo-issue og apology? Yabag,” Osmeña said.

The other day, the Cebu Mayors League, Vice Mayors League-Cebu chapter, Association of Barangay Councils, Sangguniang Kabataan-Cebu Chapter and other officials of Cebu province issued a common stand demanding for an apology from Mayor Osmeña for his tirades against the governor.

This after Osmeña issued the statement questioning the capability of the provincial government to take care of its investors when in fact it could not even protect its cultural heritage, the Oslob church, from burning down.

With this, the mayor revealed he would be asking the City Council’s approval for the donation of one fire extinguisher for the town’s fire station.

But Capitol officials did not let go of the opportunity to lash back at Osmeña and demand public apology for his statement.

The mayor however is not bent on heeding the call of the provincial officials.

Osmeña said that maybe the Ombudsman should look into why the Capitol has given defective fire trucks to the town.

“Why do you buy a fire truck that is not running? That’s something that they (Ombudsman) should look into. They gave a fire truck that is not in running condition,” he said.

“The firetrucks ila gihatag, ambot overpriced ba na o gubaon ba na. Kay kanag fire trucks, di sila mogamit hangtod naay sunog. Ngano man gubaon man mga fire trucks? Mao na ako pangutana, ngano di moandar? Wa magamit di mouandar diay? Mohatag ko’g fire extinguisher aron makatabang ko sa ilang problema. Unya ako pa mohatag og apology sa ila mga tawo.”

With this, Osmeña urged the mayors that rallied behind the governor to first check the fire trucks donated to them by the Capitol to seek if these are running.

“Why don’t all of these mayors check if the fire trucks given by the governor are running in the first place? That’s more important,” he said.

Despite the recent development, Osmeña said he will continue with his plan to donate one fire extinguisher to the town and a pail as his own contribution. — Wenna A. Berondo/NLQ