‘I will contest 3rd district in 2013’

There will be a Garcia vs Osmeña battle in the 2013 elections.

“I am not shy  to talk  about it.  I will run for the 2013 elections,” said former senator John Henry “Sonny” Osmeña on the sidelines of a visit to Toledo City in Cebu’s west coast yesterday.

Osmeña’s announcement means that he will be up against incumbent Pablo John “PJ” Garcia, brother of Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia.

PJ earlier this year announced that he would vie for reelection for his third and final term  as congressman.

Osmeña, who visited the city’s  barangay Bulongan, led a day long medical-dental-surgical mission.

He was accompanied by  former congressman, Dr. Antonio “Jun” Yapha and former Provincial Board member Victoria “Tata” Corominas.

In a separate interview, Yapha, who represented the district in Congress from 1998 to 2007,  said he will make a bid to be Provincial Board member in 2013 with Corominas.

Osmeña said he wants to “continue what he had started in the third district” when he served as a congressman from 1995 to 1998.

“Consider this as a starting point in our long effort to continue with what we have done before,” he told Cebu Daily News.

“I am very proud of my record in the third district, of all the good things that I have done for the third district.”

Osmeña cited among his achievements in the district electrification and infrastructure projects.

He said he worked for the asphalting of a  five-kilometer dirt road in Bulongan and  the construction of a dike where the city’s Gaisano Mall is located.

“Before there would be no one who would build a barong-barong (shanty) there. If there was a flood, they would get carried away. I spent P80 million to build that monstrous dike, protecting the city of Toledo on both sides in Dumlog,” he said.

“That is why now you have Gaisano there. You have the dike.”

Osmeña said he is confident that he will win in the third district.

Osmeña said yesterday’s medical mission was the  kick-off in letting the people know that they are coming back in the third district.

About 500 individuals  benefited from yesterday’s medical mission.

Services included pediatrics consultation, dental services, and removal of cysts which was conducted by Yapha.

Free medicines and vitamins were distributed after consultation.

Two kilos of rice and canned goods were handed out as prizes in a mini-raffle. /Correspondent Carmel Loise Matus