CEBU, Philippines - Former Cebu governor Emilio “Lito” Osmeña may no longer pursue his earlier plan to run for governor in 2016 elections and will instead endorse lawyer Winston Garcia, who is rumored to be the standard bearer of the One Cebu Party.
Osmeña declared in May that he is running for governor next year. But, in an interview with The FREEMAN yesterday, the former governor appeared to be already hesitant to pursue his plan because of his health condition.
Garcia, former president and general manager of the Government Service Insurance System, is a known political ally of Osmeña.
“Dili na mahitabo nga magkontra mi,” Garcia said.
He also dismissed the possibility of Osmeña running as his vice governor.
“No, dili; possible pa tingali ang iyang anak,” Garcia said, referring to Mariano “Mimo” Osmeña.
Garcia, however, has refused to give a categorical declaration that he is running for governor, saying his decision will depend on how receptive the public is of his plans and programs.
Osmeña, on the other hand, is not keen on having Mimo run for public office.
“Ako giingnan si Winston nga daghan pa buhatonon si Mimo sa pamilya, di ko gusto mokandidato siya, maybe sa umaabot apan di pa karon,” he said.
He said he will work to make Cebu province number one again after it lagged behind in the recent survey conducted by the National Competitiveness Council. Cebu only ranked third to Davao del Sur and Misamis Oriental, respectively, in terms of competitiveness.
‘Wala ko malipay sa kahimtang sa Cebu because it lacks the direction,” Garcia said.
To him, the present administration failed to harness the province’s advantage over the rest of the provinces in the country.
He said Cebu is strategically located, but local officials have not developed the province’s international seaport and airport.
Garcia said the Mactan Cebu International Airport should be made a regional hub in Asia by building more runways to accommodate additional international flights.
He also shared Osmeña’s stand that Cebu should take back from the national government the P14 billion premium GMR Megawide Corporation paid for it to operate the MCIA terminal.
Osmeña even warned that he won’t support Garcia if the candidate he would be supporting cannot assure the return of the P14 billion.
The former Cebu governor had criticized the Aquino administration for taking the money to Manila instead of spending it for Cebu.
“Matuwid ang daan paingon sa ilang kaban; wa’y uwaw,” he said.
Garcia said the money should be spent in Cebu to build another runway, which was why he was disappointed that Governor Hilario Davide III, despite being a member of the MCIA Authority board, failed to oppose the transfer of the money to the national treasury.
Garcia has already met with presidential aspirant Senator Grace Poe, who is allegedly supporting plans for the return of the P14 billion.
Report to the people
Meanwhile, Garcia said accomplishments claimed by Governor Hilario Davide III in his Report to the People, the governor’s version of the State of the Province Address, last Wednesday are things that mayors and even barangay captains can do.
He said what a governor can do is to come up with a vision and doable overall development plans and focus on pursuing their realization.
Garcia suggested that Davide should leave “usual and common” projects to mayors and barangay captains so he could focus on developments that would have greater impact on Cebu; otherwise, there is no distinction between the governor and the barangay captains.
“Ang makaya sa mga barangay captains ug sa mayors, ipabuhat nila para walay duplication of works. Dapat unahon sa gobernador ang butang nga dili kaya i-address sa uban. That’s my concept of the role that a governor should take. If lain iyahang concept, aw iyaha pud na,” Garcia said.
On the other hand, Garcia’s sister, former governor and now third district Representative Gwendolyn “Gwen” Garcia accused Davide of “gross ignorance of the law” for refusing to repair the Cebu International Convention Center despite the go signal from the Office of the Ombudsman.—/RHM (FREEMAN)