JOEL Mari Yu, Mayor Tomas Osmeña’s consultant on business and economic development, decried accusations hurled by Presidential Assistant for the Visayas Michael Dino that the mayor is “anti-business” and “anti-poor.”
Coming to Osmeña’s defense, Yu cited that during an Investment Forum of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in the early 2000s in Makati City, the head of the Davao Investment Promotions Center lauded Cebu, calling it their “idol” in business development and investment promotions.
“This was the time when Tommy Osmeña was mayor of Cebu,” he said in a letter to the editor sent to Cebu Daily News.
Yu also said that in 2008, during a round table discussion hosted by the Development Bank of the Philippines, a businessman, who invested in retail trade in Cebu, said Osmeña allowed SM and Ayala to start their business in the Queen City of the South in the early 1990s.
“Nothing is further from the truth. Mr. Osmeña’s issues with SM, Filinvest, and Ayala are legal issues. Nothing personal,” said Yu, who served as former head of the Cebu Investment Promotions Center.
“Where Tommy is concerned, these big companies did not give Cebu its just returns, and he is doing something that is really predictable. He is fighting tooth and nail to protect Cebu City’s interest,” he added.