Tom welcomes probe on incident at Fuente

Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña is willing to face any investigation into allegations that he was drunk and was toting a gun when he apprehended taxi drivers violating traffic laws at Fuente Osmeña recently.

The mayor denied all accusations against him as the Office of the Ombudsman Visayas opened yesterday a opened a fact-finding investigation on the alleged misconduct of the mayor as reported in a local newspaper.

“Yes, pinatitingnan natin yan,” said Deputy Ombudsman for the Visayas Pelagio Apostol, urging those who are directly affected by the alleged misconduct of the mayor to file a formal complaint to expedite the investigation.

Reports had it that the mayor, allegedly drunk, stopped at Fuente Osmeña circle, went out of his vehicle carrying a handgun to apprehend several taxi drivers and private car owners illegally parking at the area.

The incident came out in a newspaper column, quoting an alleged informant.

Capitol consultant Rory John Sepulveda picked up the information from the column and asked the anti-graft office to look into it.

According to Sepulveda, the provincial government is concerned about it because the alleged incident took place in an area that Capitol claims ownership.

Sepulveda said that the Ombudsman should look into the impropriety of the mayor’s conduct.

Osmeña said that he is ready to face the investigation if that’s what the Capitol officials want.

“What they wrote up is not true, that’s evidence itself… let them cross-examine the witnesses,” he said, adding that the car of the news team of ABS-CBN was even one of those he apprehended and they can testify what had really happened.

 The mayor said he does not want to dwell on the issue because “they are purely tsismis” and character assassination.

Osmeña’s son, Miguel, who was with him during the alleged gun-toting incident, also denied the accusations, saying they were from a wake when they passed by Fuente Osmeña and saw illegally parked vehicles that are causing the traffic.

Miguel said this prompted his father to go out of their vehicle and apprehend the drivers, but the mayor was never holding a gun. — Wenna A. Berondo and Fred P. Languido/NLQ