Osmeña tells Aguirre to step down

CEBU, Philippines — Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña has called for the resignation of Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre after the latter canceled the dismissal of charges against suspected drug lords Kerwin Espinosa and Peter Lim, among others.

Osmeña said there must be something wrong with the earlier decision of a Department of Justice panel that found no sufficient evidence to charge the respondents.

For this, the mayor believes the public deserves an explanation from Aguirre.

“Sakpan gyud. Nabisto. That shows you they were wrong. We’ll be better off without Aguirre, that’s one thing for sure,” he told reporters at a press conference yesterday.

Osmeña’s statements were the latest in what appears to be a word war between him and the Justice secretary.

Aguirre earlier announced filing charges against Osmeña for accusing him of “corruption” over his supposed intervention in the cases the city government filed against big establishments.

Before that, Osmeña made a pronouncement that he will be filing a disbarment case against Aguirre.

“Mr. Aguirre, you have to explain this to the people. Why are you playing favoritism to the rich and to the drug lords? You can use all your legally maneuverings and I’m only trying to protect the people of Cebu,” the mayor said.

Osmeña said he knows that Aguirre, as the chief of the Department of Justice, has several connections with the best lawyers in the country. Nevertheless, he said he is not scared to fight back.

“I have the right to tell the people of Cebu City what’s going on. He cannot tell me to shut my mouth. Nobody can give me a gag order on this. I don’t know what law that is, but I’m being paid for by the people of Cebu City and I’m going to defend the rights of Cebu City and if we are being defrauded with the assistance of Secretary Aguirre, I will spill it out and let the people decide,” the mayor added.

He likewise urged the national government to assist local government units in pursuing huge firms that are allegedly trying to skirt from their tax obligations.

Osmeña said he is just protecting the rights of the LGU and the right of the people as the unpaid taxes could be used to improve roads, among other projects that will benefit the public.

“We should be ashamed of this government if it’s going to be like that. And I’m not doing this for myself. I’m doing this for the people that I’m trying to defend —the people of Cebu. I’ll stick by that, I’ll fight by that,” he said. —JMD (FREEMAN)