Cebu vice gov blames rival for fund mess

CEBU — Vice Gov. John-John Osmeña finally broke his silence on the Perdida Lex controversy and, in a privilege speech, accused a provincial consultant as the one who set him up in the mess to ruin his gubernatorial bid.

But all throughout his speech he never mentioned the consultant’s name but it was obvious that, by his description, he was referring to Gwendolyn Garcia, the governor’s daughter who is also running for governor.

Osmeña claimed that the consultant, in one of his casual conversations with her at her office sometime in 2002, broached to him the idea of a computerization program.

He said he tried to discourage her about it since it would not likely get the support of her father.

But the consultant, he said, suggested to get the funding instead through his office, considering that he was then the chairman of the information technology committee.

This led to the inclusion of the P5 million for that purpose in the supplemental budget, which the provincial board approved, along with the P250-million megadome project.

In October 2002, the consultant allegedly called him on his cellular phone to inform him that she was sending someone over to talk to him about the P5-million computer education program.

Since he was busy then, Osmeña said he sent his chief of staff, Willie Mulla, to meet with the consultant’s emissary who happened to be Milagros Herrera, who was later identified as the president of the Perdido Lex Foundation.

Apparently sensing that it was Gwendolyn who was being alluded to as the consultant, Gov. Pablo Garcia’s reaction was terse after Osmeña’s speech.

"Liar, liar, liar," Garcia said.

The governor said it is not true that his daughter knew Herrera and neither did she talk to Osmeña about the computer education program.

"Concoct a better and more plausible defense," Garcia said as he vehemently denied that his camp had set up Perdido Lex to destroy the vice governor.

Osmeña said he was incapable of doing such a scheme even if circumstantial evidence pointed to him as the man behind the controversial foundation.

"Someone created an entirely believable foundation out of thin air," he said. However, he admitted facilitating its accreditation and the release of the funds.

He said it was just coincidence that one of the incorporators of the foundation had a name similar to his cook’s and that the bank used by Perdido Lex was located on the ground floor of his condominium. — Freeman News Service