Guardo welcomes Serge as GO campaign manager

The leader of the Genuine Opposition in Cebu yesterday welcomed the appointment of Cebuano senator Sergio "Serge" Osmeña III as campaign manager of the opposition replacing San Juan Mayor Joseph Victor "JV" Ejercito, who is seeking reelection.

Jonathan Guardo, who is also seeking a congressional seat to represent the city's south district, said that although Serge is the brother of Mayor Tomas Osmeña, a known ally of the administration, he expects Serge to do his job as campaign manager, especially here in Cebu.

"He should openly endorse the candidates of the genuine opposition or else, we can't guarantee that we will vote straight," Guardo explained.

On Thursday, GO spokesman Adel Tamayo announced the appointment of Serge as campaign manager for the opposition, saying the senator's work experience and qualifications cannot be questioned.

Serge's current party affiliation is with PDP-Laban. He ran for reelection in 2001 under the administration coalition and won, but when he was in the Senate he acted as an independent and sided with the opposition on several occasions.

Serge, who is expected to take on his new role as campaign strategist of the opposition in two weeks, is also a first cousin of John "Sonny" Osmeña, who is running for senator under GO.

Meanwhile, Guardo said that the GO has not scheduled its proclamation rally in Cebu. He said former senator Ernesto Herrera told him that they will hold a proclamation rally here once their lineup for their bets in the local positions is already complete.

"As of now, our lineup is not yet complete. We have not yet finalized our slate. Maybe we would know that after the March 29 deadline," Guardo said.

He added that he also expects their lineup to be complete on the day of the last filing of the certificate of candidacies for the local elective positions. - Wenna A. Berondo