Tom hits back at Atan on transparency yarn

CEBU, Philippines - If being transparent is the issue, then Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña is asking opposition leader Jonathan Guardo to account for the millions spent during Cebu’s co-hosting of the 23rd Southeast Asian Games.

The mayor said that the demand of Guardo for him to be transparent is not an issue, but wants the congressional aspirant for the South District to liquidate the expenses incurred in the sporting event held in 2005.

Guardo was chairman of the Cebu Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee.

“Why am I not transparent, look who’s talking, until now he could not give an accounting where the money went in after the SEA Games ha, until now,” Osmeña said.

Guardo questioned Osmeña’s announcement of a P300 million surplus in the city’s budget when there are a lot of basic services, which the opposition leader said were not delivered to the people like health and sanitation.

“When I am quiet, I am not transparent, when I say we have a P300 million surplus then I am not transparent again. We had to ask him what happened to the money in the ASEAN Games. Gwen could not even publish what happened to the money after the ASEAN Summit, I had long published mine,” he said.

Guardo also questioned Osmeña’s budgeting, which he said is not done lump sum but “per piece.”

“When a lot of local governments are going on deficits, us here were having surplus after surplus, so we budget it, we don’t budget money which is not there yet,” Osmeña said.

For his part Guardo said that the Mayor is using old issues.

“He keeps on repeating recycled issues. Those issues has (sic) long been resolved. Sa iya rako nakita og budget surplus nga nag-una,” Guardo said.

He said he had long liquidated the expenses of the SEA Games in 2005 and detached from the agency untainted.

“Definitely…if we haven’t liquidated the COA (Commission on Audit) would already file cases against us. Every single centavo has been accounted for,” Guardo said.

Osmeña has announced the possibility of him running against Guardo to protect his plans for the South Road Properties (SRP). — Ferliza Contratista/NLQ   (THE FREEMAN)