Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña yesterday lashed back at the opposition, saying they had no ?permit? to put up basketball boards with their names on it or ripping down other boards.

?Sometimes they ripped it out so they can put up ones that say ?Atan Guardo?,? the mayor said, referring to opposition leader Jonathan Guardo.

?You need a permit to put your name up there. That?s a billboard.?

He said the removal of city-owned backboards was ?stealing? and vandalism.

City government and opposition barangay leaders have traded accusations over the past weeks over which donated boards should be used in basketball courts in the city.

The Visayas Ombudsman is looking into a related complaint filed by opposition leaders Guardo and Lahug barangay captain Mary Ann de los Santos that the Department of Public Works and Highways supplied ?overpriced? basketball boards worth over P11,000 each in the north district as a project emblazoned with the name of Rep. Raul del Mar.

Osmeña said the opposition was the first to tear down basketball boards of their rivals.

The mayor said some of these boards were ?owned by me personally? but unlike the opposition, he didn?t put his name on them.

?If my name appears there, those are not my instructions but those of the barangay captain or the recipient.?

?What business (does the opposition) have ripping off my personal boards or for that matter the city?s boards? That is a cheap, indecent, immoral and illegal way of doing things,? Osmeña said.

He challenged Guardo to prove his allegations that the city ?ripped off? over 1,000 boards belonging to the opposition.

?We only have 50 boards in the south district. I challenge (Guardo) to identify these 1,000 places we put up our boards,?

The mayor continued to challenge Guardo to show a liquidation of the Cebu City Sports Commission?s expenses during the 2005 South East Asian Games held in Cebu City.

Guardo was chairman of the sports commission at the time. Osmeña said Guardo never gave the city an itemization of the commission?s expenditures of city funds for the games.

Guardo has announced plans to run for the south congressional district in 2010. Osmeña is eyeing the same post.

?He just wants to legalize what he is doing,? said Osmeña. ?Do we want this guy to be a congressman to make the city a quack center of the Philippines? What law is he going to propose? He doesn?t have experience. I just expect him to spend a lot of money.?

Guardo, for his part, said Osmeña should concentrate on his job as mayor instead of engaging in name-calling.

He said the mayor shouldn?t be bothered by an ?underdog.?

?Mayor Osmeña is a giant in Cebu City politics... He has vast resources to spare. It would be to the city?s interest if he would just focus on governance,? Guardo said.