(From left to right) Councilor Junjun Osmeña together with his uncle, Sonny Osmeña and Cebu City Vice Mayor Edgar Labella during Sonny’s visit at the City Hall today. / CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Toledo City Mayor John Henry “Sonny” Osmeña was in Cebu City Hall today to visit Cebu City Vice Mayor Edgar Labella. Labella confirmed this during a press briefing with reporters.
Labella said Sonny, the cousin of Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña, met with him to consult about barangay delineation and boundaries.
“He came over to inquire about the mechanics on merging and consolidation of barangays in Toledo City. He was just consulting me on how to go about it, as provided by the Local Government Code of 1991. I think he consulted me since we’re lawyers,” said Labella.
However, he added that the 82-year old local chief executive of Toledo City, located 50 kilometers southwest of Cebu City, did not elaborate on his purpose.
It can be recalled that Sonny was ordered to be suspended by the Office of the Ombudsman last September for his refusal to disclose the real tax property (RPT) shares of two barangays in Toledo City – Daanlungsod and Sangi.
In his counter-affidavit submitted to the Ombudsman, Sonny claimed that a pending boundary dispute between Daanlungsod and Sangi compelled him not to reveal their RPT shares.
But the Court of Appeals, in a decision last May 12, reversed the ruling of the state’s anti-graft body.