Tomas: Don’t threaten me
“Don’t threaten me because I thrive on threats.” This was the statement of Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña on the reported threats against him for fighting alleged tax evaders.
Osmeña said he received information that someone is creating pages on Facebook for black propaganda against him.
"I have many feelers from different people but this one is nasty. Murag naay threat. Buang siya? Mosukol gyod ko. Samot gyod na. Don't threaten me because I thrive on threats," the mayor said.
Osmeña said he has someone who might be behind the move in mind but refused to name the person for now, as he "would get in trouble."
"I don't like to mention that. I'll get myself in trouble. Basta ako, I don't care where it's coming from. I'll take my stand. I'm stupid. I don't think about myself basta mosukol gyod ko," he said.
In a post on his Facebook page, Osmeña said the feeler who called him last Friday told him to take a look at Facebook pages named "Kumander Leon Kilat" and "theclubfilipino."
He said he was told that behind the propaganda has a "very large budget to sponsor posts and will continue to do so until this tax evading company gets what they want."
"He told me to just take the money they're planning to spend against me. He said I can't win anyway because they have enough lawyers to keep everything in court until I die of old age. He said that if I don't stop, they will destroy my reputation, instigate a recall election, and “destroy” me," his post reads.
Osmeña said he has no plans of fighting the propaganda online and he will simply continue doing his job as mayor.
He said he is bent on going after tax evaders and getting the 45.2 hectare lots at the South Road Properties (SRP) that the previous administration sold to giant developers.
Recently, Osmeña has been going after businesses that are allegedly not paying the "right taxes."
He sued SM Prime Holdings Inc, BDO Unibank Inc.-Magallanes Cebu Branch, and GDS Security and Detective Agency Inc. for alleged tax fraud.
The cases are pending in court.
"If I have to think about the dangers, I won't do it so I don't think about the dangers so I can do it. I just do it," he said.
"The only difference now is that my wife is being threatened. My son was also approached when this issue began a few months ago. That's fine, I will protect my own. I will also protect you. That is my job. That is the trust I ask from you every three years," he added.
Osmeña said the city will die without taxes.
He admitted that the city still needs to address several problems, including the condition of roads, proper collection of garbage, which have affected social services.