‘John-John should apologize’

CEBU — Instead of dragging others into the Perdido Lex controversy, it would be better for Vice Gov. John Henry Gregory Osmeña to ask for forgiveness from the Cebuanos if he has already spent the funds of the foundation, his gubernatorial opponent, Celestino Martinez Jr., said yesterday.

Martinez reacted to the conditions set by Osmeña in accepting the challenge of another gubernatorial bet, Gwendolyn Garcia, to undergo a lie detector test over the Perdido Lex issue.

Osmeña wanted Martinez to be included in the test before taking on Gwendolyn’s challenge. Martinez merely laughed at his rival’s condition.

Martinez said he has no knowledge about the Perdido Lex issue since the transactions happened at the provincial capitol.

He said it is not a political case either but a crime of alleged malversation of public funds committed by somebody at the provincial government.

Martinez said the circumstances are clear that "Perdido Lex is John-John Osmeña," alleging that it was the vice governor’s chief of staff, Willie Mulla, who followed up the transactions, and that it was his cook who was one of the foundation’s supposed incorporators.

Martinez also claimed that when the provincial board granted accreditation to Perdido Lex, Osmeña and board member Victor Maambong, committee chairman on accreditation, were still friends and political allies. — Freeman News Service