Ex-Cebu gov Osmeña eyes return to politics after 11 years

After 11 years, former Cebu Governor Emilio “Lito" Osmeña on Sunday threw his hat into the political arena once again, this time with the hope of snagging a senatorial seat. “What urged me to run, I think, is the opportunity for me to continue what I have started 20 years ago," Osmeña told reporters after filing his certificate of candidacy (COC) with the Commission on Elections (Comelec) main office in Manila.

Osmeña, 71, served as governor of Cebu from 1988 to 1992. He was widely known for instituting innovative changes in the province like increasing its annual provincial budget and creating several important structures. But in his bid for higher positions, he lost twice against former President Joseph “Erap" Estrada - one in the 1992 vice presidential race and another in the 1998 presidential race. Osmeña said he is pinning his hope of victory to the automated elections, the first even in the country on a nationwide scale. “So now that we are having elections again, especially wherein most of the country it will now be computerized, I think there is a better chance of a better democracy," he said. He also said he plans to maximize his base support from the local Cebuanos and Bicolanos. “I intend to champion the Bicolanos, the Cebuanos, those that have been left out for a long time," he said. If elected, he said he intends to bring back the glory days of the Cory Aquino and Fidel Ramos administrations. “The story has to go on... the restoration of freedom after dictatorship. I think the Cory and the Ramos years were the best ones and it collapsed in the succeeding administration and so now there is a chance to continue what Cory started," he said. The former Cebu governor is the grandchild of former President Sergio Osmeña and younger brother of former Senator John Henry Osmeña. - KBK, GMANews.TV