Word war between Osmeñas heats up

CEBU CITY — The exchange of barbs between Sen. John "Sonny" Osmeña and his cousin, Mayor Tomas "Tommy" Osmeña, has heated up, with the former accusing the latter of allegedly protecting the Visayan Electric Co. (VECO).

Tomas, for his part, accused John of having allegedly used his position as Senate finance committee chairman in maneuvering insertions in the General Appropriations Act of close to P1 billion for a non-existent project.

"Tommy has chosen to be a VECO protector. Maybe this is another of his compromise agreements," John said in a press conference the other day.

The senator was vague though as to why he tagged his cousin a VECO "protector."

But his accusations were made in reaction to a prior insinuation by Tomas, who was quoted as saying that John was allegedly "extorting money" from VECO when he vowed to block the utility firm’s franchise renewal.

The senator has directed the Energy Regulatory Commission to block any power hike petition filed by VECO and its independent power producer, the Cebu Private Power Corp. He plans to hold a public hearing on the power hike in Cebu.

Reacting to accusations of being an alleged VECO "protector," Tomas instead dared John to put him under scrutiny.

"Let the people be the judge and let them judge who is really the protector," the mayor said. — Freeman News Service