Abunda irked by remark on ‘squid tactics’

TV CELEBRITY Boy Abunda is upset.

The “King of Talk” of Philippine showbusiness was reportedly affronted after his name was dragged in a word war between Cebu Provincial Board (PB) Member Arleigh Sitoy and Rep.  Pablo John Garcia in connection with the controversial Balili property.

Mike Lopez, a Cebuano publicist, newspaper columnist and  close friend of Abunda, said the TV personality asked  for Sitoy’s phone number to talk to him about the Capitol official’s statement in a Cebu Daily News interview where Sitoy accused Congressman Garcia of employing “squid tactics” that “only the likes of Boy Abunda can resort to.” Lopez said Abunda will  issue a statement after he talks to the board member.

The comment arose in Sitoy’s tit-for-tat with Congressman Garcia about the backfilling of the 24.7-hectare Balili estate, which is the subject of a graft case of Gov. Gwen Garcia and seven others in the Sandiganbayan.

Lopez is a regular panel reactor in Abunda’s TV program “Bottomline”.

It was in Abunda’s  March 19 edition of the “Bottomline” where Governor Garcia first revealed her interest in seeking a higher position after her term ends in 2013.

The governor announced her Senate bid in April.

She changed her plans after graft charges were filed in the Sandiganbayan over the Balili land purchase in July. Correspondent Carmel Loise Matus