Cebu City dad unfazed by smear drive

CEBU CITY — A city councilor, who is seeking the vice mayoral post, said he is not bothered by the circulation of a computer-generated photo showing him and a re-electionist woman councilor in a supposedly intimate moment.

Councilor Michael Rama hinted that the photo showing him with councilor Jocelyn Pesquera had been fabricated.

The photo, which originally came out in the Garcia-owned SunStar Cebu, was labeled "Love Team" and distributed at City Hall by supporters of Mayor Alvin Garcia.

Mayor Garcia denied having known about the scheme but said he could not stop his supporters from doing so.

"You cannot stop your supporters from doing that. There are so many propaganda like that and anybody can do them because they are computer-generated," Garcia told reporters in jest.

Rama is the running mate of former mayor Tomas Osmeña under the Bando Osmeña—Pundok Kauswagan (BO-PK) party. He is pitted against Rico Rey Francis Holganza of Garcia’s Kugi Uswag Sugbo (Kusug) party.

Rama said he is not threatened by black propaganda since Cebuanos know him.

"When you talk about personal matters, that is practically a concern that belongs to you and me," he said.

Rama’s wife filed a petition for annulment of their marriage last year. But the councilor said they continue to see each other and are not bitter about their failed marriage.

"My conscience is very clean. My former wife knows where I stand," he said.

The barangay heads, who have claimed responsibility for the photo’s distribution, said they were just retaliating against BO-PK’s distribution of the list of cases lodged against Garcia with the Office of the Ombudsman.

Of the 52 cases filed against Garcia, 21 have been dismissed and the rest are still being investigated. — Freeman News Service