Osmeña Challenged Rama to Prove Ombud charge over Dodge Charger

Cebu City South District Rep. Tomas R. Osmeña has challenged Reelectionist Mayor Michael Rama to prove to the Office of the Ombudsman-Visayas that the two Dodge Charger vehicles are owned by the city.

The lawmaker said Rama should present the deed of donation of the vehicles if he is really convinced that the two US-made Dodge Charger vehicles were donated to the city by Michael Gleissner, owner of Bigfoot Entertainment.

Rama is not satisfied that he defeated Osmeña in their mayoralty race in last Monday’s elections because he is still pursuing the criminal case that he had filed against the lawmaker before the Office of the Ombudsman-Visayas.

The anti-graft probers are still investigating into the claim of Rama that after his term as mayor in June 30, 2010, Osmeña reportedly brought with him the two Dodge Charger vehicles that according to Rama were donated to the city by Gleissner.

When he filed the complaint against Osmeña before the anti-graft body, Rama just used the newspaper clippings of The Freeman that was published in 2009 where former City Hall public information officer Nagiel Bañacia revealed the plan of Gleissner to donate the two vehicles to the city.

The Ombudsman investigators asked Rama to present more evidence like the sworn statement of the reporter who wrote the story that he made as basis of his complaint or some other evidences.

The plan of Gleissner to donate the two US-made vehicles to the city was first published by The Freeman when Bañacia voluntarily gave the information. Bañacia said Gleissner wants that the two vehicles will be used by the security personnel only for the South Road Properties (SRP).

Osmeña said he is not afraid of the case filed by Rama because Gleissner did not pursue his plan to donate the two Dodge Charger vehicles to the city, but instead sold them to his sister Minnie Osmeña. Gleissner decided not to pursue his plan to donate the vehicles to the city after knowing that Osmeña’s term as mayor will end June 30, 2010.

Gleissner is leasing two hectares of lots at the SRP for his movie industry and even paid five years advance rentals to the city.

Bigfoot has been allowed by the city to lease two hectares of lots for only about P26 per square meter as one way to encourage other investors to put up their business at 295 hectares of SRP lots. Bigfoot had made advance rentals of P28 million for five years.

At a monthly lease rate of $40 centavos or P26 per square meter, (the exchange rate that time) the city earn about P400,000 a month or nearly P5 million a year for the two hectare lots.

“He should prove that the cars are owned by the city. He is the mayor, he should produce the deed of donation, City Council resolution accepting the deed of donation and other documents,” Osmeña said.

In 2009, the vehicle manufacturer’s website said a unit of Dodge Charger vehicle is cost at $21,468 dollars or close to P1 million pesos if it will be bought directly from them. Dodge Charger vehicles were among those used in the movie ‘Transformer’.