Sonny O belittles graft complaint

CEBU CITY — Sen. John "Sonny" Osmeña has belittled the graft and corruption charges filed against him by his cousin, Mayor Tomas Osmeña.

And because he said there is no merit to the charges for lack of factual and legal basis, Sonny said the complaint will most likely be dropped by the Office of the Ombudsman-Visayas where it was filed last Thursday afternoon.

Should he be asked to present his counter-affidavit or be summoned to appear before the anti-graft office to explain, Sonny said he will have his lawyer attend to the case.

Sonny said he felt no need to answer the accusations hurled against him by his cousin so he neither called for a press conference nor attempted to explain his side in radio interviews.

"Because I think this is a stupid thing. This need not be answered," he said.

The senator said there was nothing irregular when he disbursed P9 million of his Priority Development and Assistance Fund (PDAF) to the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center intended for the qualified beneficiaries of the medical health program dubbed as "Kahimsug Mo, Gugma Ko" implemented by the Panagtambayayong Para Sa Bag-ong Sugbo Foundation Inc.

The foundation is headed by lawyer Aristotle Batuhan, a congressional aspirant in the city’s south district.

Tomas accused his cousin of violating the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and the revised accounting and auditing guidelines of the Commission on Audit.

Sonny debunked the mayor’s allegations that the program was politically motivated because the request for the Special Allotment and Release Order was made as early as Jan. 19, 2003, a year away from the election period. — Freeman News Service