CEBU CITY (April 30, 2024) – Mayor Mike Rama vows to file a “tsunami” of lawsuits against those who sued him and members of his Cabinet.
“Kami sad magpusot-pusot sad ta’g file og kaso,” Rama said during Ingna’ng Mayor over RMN Sugboanon Channel this morning.
Suspended Metropolitan Cebu Water District (MCWD) officials filed yesterday complaints against Rama and five other city officials over the city’s alleged “illegal intrusion” in the water district’s main office in the evening of April 15.
They filed before the Office of the President (OP) and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).
They also filed similar complaints against City administrator Collin Rosell, City budget officer Jerone Castillo, City attorney Carlo Vincent Gimena, City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office head Harold Alcontin and Road Management Authority head Raquel Arce before the Office of the Ombudsman-Visayas.
Meanwhile, the Cebu Port Authority (CPA) also complained Rama after the City installed rail fences to block the entrance to its port extension project across the Compania Maritima for lack of building permit.
Kami sad magpusot-pusot sad tag file og kaso
Mayor Mike Rama to MCWD & CPA
Nothing new
Rama said he was not even surprised that MCWD and CPA sued him.
“Kahibaw ka simple kaayo, what else is new?” he told Ingna’ng Mayor anchor Vilma Andales.
He said that he remains determined to go after the two offices in order to uphold the city’s local autonomy guaranteed in Republic Act 7160, the Local Gocvernment Code of 1991.
“Dili ra magkiniha-ay, mo-tingog lang ta-g mo-barug, pero dili na pwede nga mo-out lang ta og moduko,” Rama added.
The mayor also assured his fellow city officials that he will help them address these legal challenges.
Rama even order Rosell to convene the city’s lawyers, including those involved in private practice, to meet and brainstorm their next legal move. He, however, refused to elaborate.
“Dili nako motubag, but I am very clear about what is in line with the authority of the mayor, as provided by the Local Government Code, and supported by the Constitution, that promotes autonomy,” Rama added.
Making the illegal ‘legal’
Rama lamented that suspended MCWD officials dared to sue him when their status at the water district is under question.
“Unsa man nang mga utok (nila) nga bisan og gi-suspend (nana sila), mao man gihapon?” he asked, adding “kung mao ni atong nasud, nga dili na gani ta motoo sa balaod, unsa man atong ipakita sa kabataan?”
After the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA) created an interim BOD to oversee MCWD for 90 days, it also ordered the suspension of board members Joey Daluz, Jodelyn Mae Seno and Mike Pato.
The period allows LWUA to investigate allegations of financial mismanagement and non-compliance of procurement regulations against the suspended MCWD officials.
The iBOD also placed MCWD general manager Edgar Donoso under preventive suspension after he defied the latter’s order to cooperate in its investigation.
The iBOD first appointed MCWD customer care division chief John DX Lapid as acting general manager, but he resigned days after from his post.
| RMN / jkv
Cebu City • News & Information 