Gwen sues Tomas over "malicious" SRP signages

CEBU, Philippines - The fight between Cebu City south district Rep. Tomas Osmeña and Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia is not yet over.

Garcia sent one of her lawyers to the Commission on Elections in Manila last June 4 to file several complaints for violations of election offenses against the former Cebu City mayor.

Garcia’s spokesperson Rory Jon Sepulveda said the case stemmed from the installation of several signages, then huge tarpaulin billboards, at the South Road Properties during the election campaign period that the governor described tended to destroy her credibility.

The first signage was emblazoned with the words “This way to the S.U.P.” or the South Underwater Property. Then two more billboards were installed 50 meters apart from each other which also read “Your Provincial Taxes at Work” and “A Proud Blunder of Gov. Gwen Garcia. I’m Sorry.”

Those billboards were apparently meant to tease the governor for her controversial purchase of the P98-million Balili property in Barangay Tinaan, Naga City, that was the subject of an investigation by the Visayas Ombudsman after it was found out that a big portion of the property is underwater and planted with mangroves.

But Osmeña said he is not afraid of the complaints filed against him by the governor because what he did was factual and Garcia even asked forgiveness from the public.

“Oh, it’s not anti-Gwen signage. It is simply factual. Let the reader judge. There are all kinds of signs that says this project is through the efforts of… Is it or is it not her project? Did she not say I’m sorry? Didn’t she use government funds?” Osmeña said.

The south district congressman insisted that the signages could not even be considered propaganda because those were not installed in a place where she was a candidate during the campaign for last May 10 elections.

“I don’t think it can even be technically called propaganda because the signs were installed in Cebu City where she was not a candidate. If I put up a billboard in Texas saying “this direction to SUP, is that propaganda?” Osmeña asked.

But Sepulveda replied by saying “Immaterial. It was clear who was the target reader.”

Osmeña said he is just telling the fact because it cannot be denied that it was the Province of Cebu that purchased the underwater property out of the people’s taxes and that Garcia had apologized for it.

According to Osmeña that it was just giving information to the public that they are heading to the underwater properties situated 19 kilometers away.

To recall, last year Osmeña also installed signages advising the motorists entering the 295 hectares of reclaimed SRP lands to “Please Dim Your Lights. This is Not the Province,” suggesting that province is dark.

Sepulveda said if the Comelec will find probable cause to indict Osmeña before the court and he will be found guilty of the offense, he might be removed from his position and will be banned from holding public office for lifetime.

Election offenses are punishable by an imprisonment of not more than six years, but shall not be subject to probation.

Garcia and Osmeña are at odds after the land swapping deal between the city and the province failed three years ago. (FREEMAN NEWS)