Osmeña distances self from son’s case

LAOAG CITY, Ilocos Norte – Former Sen. John Osmeña, a candidate of the Genuine Opposition, distanced himself yesterday from the drug smuggling case filed by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) against his son, former Cebu vice governor John Gregory "John-John" Osmeña.

Osmeña admitted that the controversy has embarrassed him, but said his 37-year-old son is old enough to decide on his own.

He added that the Arroyo administration might have revived the three-year-old case to embarrass him for seeking a Senate seat again this time under the Genuine Opposition.

"So I don’t know why it is made to appear that I am directly or indirectly responsible. The only… connection to me is that he is my son and he carries my name, which I think are both very unfortunate," he said.

"As I have pointed out very clearly, he is 37 years old. He has a lawyer, (and) he has chartered a political career, separate and distinct from mine," he said.

Osmeña recalled that John Gregory ran for governor in the 2004 elections "against my advice."

"He has said publicly that he is recognizing (former) Gov. Pablo Garcia as his political mentor," he said.

"Ang masasabi ko na lang (What I can merely say) let the law take its course. Wala akong kinalaman, wala akong pakialam, bahala sila (I’m not involved, I don’t care, let them handle it)," he said.

Osmeña, together with fellow GO candidate Loren Legarda, talked to reporters in a press conference hosted by Ilocos Norte Gov. Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. at the provincial capitol. Former Sen. Ernesto Maceda, GO executive committee member, was present.

Even before his son’s drug smuggling case was raised, Osmeña appeared to be in bad mood when he arrived at the press conference. He even attacked The STAR which published his son’s case for being "pro-administration."

John Gregory, together with 10 others, was charged with illegal drug importation before the Department of Justice in connection with the alleged smuggling of P3.65 billion worth of pseudoephedrine – used in making shabu – from China into the country via the Port of Cebu in 2004. Three of the respondents worked in the former vice governor’s office.

John Gregory was tagged as an alleged local contact of an international drug syndicate.

Osmeña, who ran under the administration’s banner in the 2004 Senate race but lost, claimed the move to revive the charges against his son was a form of political harassment.

"That issue was first brought out in 2004, then after a while it quieted down and then nothing was said anymore… Then he (John Gregory) left for the United States and nothing happened. Until I became a candidate in the opposition, until he announced that he wanted to run (under GO) in the first district of Cebu against Eduardo Gullas… and all of the sudden the case was revived," he said.

"So what it’s telling us is that in this system of ours, you really run a risk if you are running against the administration… Look at the case of Satur Ocampo; it is 32 years ago. And the case of John-John is three years ago," he added.

Osmeña earlier accused Gullas of having a hand in the filing of the drug smuggling case against his son, which the congressman denied, saying that he was not even aware of the PDEA investigation.

Osmeña said his son worked as a consultant of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor).

He said President Arroyo appointed his son to Pagcor where he received a monthly salary of P50,000 as a consultant. "His last paycheck was in December 2006," he said.