Tomas slams Buot Taop chief

CEBU, Philippines - Mayor Tomas Osmeña yesterday expressed his ire over the statement of Buot Taop Barangay Captain Rechie Sibla that the city has not provided any assistance to the barangay.

Because of Sibla’s statement, Osmeña said the city will not provide a mini bus to the mountain barangay.

“He said we are doing nothing for them, therefore, I will not do anything for them,” Osmeña said.

“You know, we spent P7 million for their school and he talks like that? That’s a very small population there and yet we spent P7 million for a school building? That’s why I feel insulted, it kind of hurts. What’s the point in trying to help people when they don’t even know how to say thank you?” Osmeña added.

The mayor said several barangays, Buot Taop included, allegedly have the tendency to use the buses to campaign.

“That’s what happened in Sambag Uno. That’s why it fell off the cliff because it’s picking up people from the south district,” Osmeña said.

Despite this, however, Osmeña said he will not regulate the use of the buses unless he sees abuse.

“You don’t have to regulate the use of these buses because I don’t want to create bureaucracy. I will regulate if I see abuses,” he said, adding, that giving the barangays the enough leeway would test the capability of barangay captains to utilize their resources only for legal means.

On a separate case, Osmeña alleged that barangay officials who are against him are using their power to make him appear the “terrorist” in the removal of basketball boards.

“Just like in Buot Taop, even those basketball courts don’t belong to him. Goals that I personally spent for, not the city. And they will strip off my board and put their names because they are the barangay captain and then I’m the terrorist,” Osmeña said.

Sibla allegedly threatened one of Osmeña’s supporters over disputes on whose basketball boards should be installed in a court in sitio Tay-ug in Buot Taop.

A certain Cheryl Lapinig and Buot Taop councilwoman Rosalita Calleno alleged that Sibla had uttered threatening words to Lapinig, which reportedly made the latter cease from further selling vegetables.

“Huna-hunaa nga naa ka’y duha ka anak, basin dili na ka makakita,” Lapinig had quoted Sibla as saying.

Lapinig said Sibla was got irked by her instruction to her neighbors to remove the basketball boards donated by Osmeña’s political foe Jonathan Guardo because the mayor’s boards have already arrived. The stands were reportedly originally donated by Osmeña.

Sibla, for his part, denied he threatened Lapinig and said the latter’s complaints were politically motivated because Calleno, Lapinig’s alleged “backer,” has plans of running against him for barangay captain. — Jessica Ann R. Pareja/JMO (THE FREEMAN)