‘I need Cebu Metropolis to have its personal identification. Cebu Metropolis is just not Singapore,’ says the brand new mayor, a nephew of Cebu Governor Gwen Garcia
CEBU, Philippines – Cebu Metropolis Vice Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia took his oath because the mayor of the Queen Metropolis of the South on Wednesday, October 9, after suspended mayor Michael Rama was dismissed from public service.
On September 9, the Ombudsman ordered Rama’s dismissal after they discovered him responsible of nepotism and grave misconduct for unlawfully appointing two of his brothers-in-law within the native authorities. Moreover dismissal, Rama was additionally punished with forfeiture of retirement advantages and perpetual disqualification for reemployment in authorities service.
Earlier in Could, the Ombudsman positioned Rama and 7 metropolis officers underneath preventive suspension for six months attributable to their involvement with unpaid salaries and discrimination confronted by 4 workers.
In a memorandum dated October 5, Leocadio Trovela, the Central Visayas director of the Division of Inside and Native Authorities (DILG), knowledgeable Garcia that he was to imagine the workplace and title of Cebu Metropolis mayor.
Garcia will serve the rest of the previous mayor’s time period or till June 30, 2025.
After taking his oath earlier than Trovela on the Cebu Metropolis corridor, the brand new mayor started his stint as full-fledged mayor by asserting the discontinuation of Rama’s Singapore-like branding and imaginative and prescient for town.
“I need Cebu Metropolis to have its personal identification. Cebu Metropolis is just not Singapore,” Garcia mentioned throughout a press convention.
Beginning in 2022, Rama started speaking about his aspirations for Cebu Metropolis to grow to be Singapore-like. In numerous fora, he mentioned the self-discipline of Singapore residents, the cleanliness of the city-state, and its infrastructure.
In 2023, Rama requested for P100 billion as price range for 2024 to be able to understand his Singapore-like imaginative and prescient. The Cebu Metropolis Council lower the proposed price range all the way down to round P22 billion.
Rama later added Melbourne options and Taiwan coaching to his Singapore-like catch phrase.
If Rama returns or not
In a earlier interview, Rama mentioned his imaginative and prescient will proceed and might be carried out if he’s reelected.
When requested about it once more after Garcia’s announcement, Rama dithered in his remark and mentioned he would speak about different extra urgent political points another time.
Regardless of the Ombudsman’s order to dismiss and disqualify him, Rama nonetheless filed his certificates of candidacy (COC) for reelection as mayor on October 3.
The previous mayor’s authorized staff informed reporters on October 4 that they’d search authorized treatments as soon as they get a replica of the Ombudsman’s determination on the nepotism case towards Rama.
On Monday, October 7, Rama filed earlier than the Supreme Court docket a petition for certiorari and prohibition with an pressing prayer for a establishment ante order and movement for a particular raffle to listen to his pleading.
The established order ante order would stop the Comelec from canceling Rama’s COC and barring him from working for reelection.
Rama’s preventive suspension is meant to finish in November however with Garcia taking oath, the latter believes that the dismissed mayor would possibly rethink making an attempt to get again into workplace after the suspension is lifted.
“Mayor Mike is a lawyer and he is aware of very nicely that the Ombudsman’s determination is straight away executory and that’s the reason I took an oath because the mayor of town of Cebu,” the brand new mayor mentioned.
On October 8, Garcia filed his COC for mayor of Cebu Metropolis. He and Rama might be going up towards one another within the Could 2025 midterm elections.
Garcia is the son of former Cebu Metropolis mayor Alvin Garcia and a nephew of Cebu Governor Gwen Garcia. He might be carrying the banner of the Kugi Uswag Sugbo (KUSUG) occasion, which is allied with the governor’s native occasion, One Cebu.
‘Sympathy’
When requested what his directions could be for presidency workers who’re supporters or sympathizers of Rama, Garcia assured that he additionally sympathizes with the ex-mayor.
“, this isn’t anymore about sympathy. That is already about serving the individuals of town of Cebu and whether or not you’re a sympathizer or not, otherwise you’re a supporter or not, so long as you might be employed right here, you will need to do your work,” Garcia mentioned.
The brand new mayor admitted that there might be and have already been some modifications within the structuring of the native authorities and appointment of metropolis division heads. Not too long ago, personnel of the Cebu Metropolis Public Info Workplace have been changed.
In the meantime, as to the course of the native authorities, Garcia exclaimed that it might be “enterprise as typical.”
Garcia informed reporters that one among his high priorities could be to complete constructing the Cebu Metropolis Medical Heart (CCMC), which has confronted a number of delays because the hospital began development in mid-2015. Solely three out of the ten flooring of CCMC are presently working.
Among the many applications the brand new mayor needs to proceed is the Job Pressure Gubat sa Baha that goals to handle flooding issues within the metropolis, and the native authorities’s housing program. – Rappler.com
