Former Cebu City Mayor to File Charges Vs Mayor Rama

Former Cebu City lawmaker Tomas R. Osmeña will file criminal and administrative charges against Mayor Michael Rama for violating the law when he used the funds intended for the construction of a hospital building for dole outs to senior citizens, person’s with disabilities and barangay officials.

Osmeña said he will analyze the Annual Audit Report (AAR) of the Cebu City government financial transactions and he will use the adverse findings of the state auditors for the filing of cases against Rama.

Early this year, Osmeña had also filed 38 administrative cases against City Treasurer Diwa Cuevas before the Civil Service Commission (CSC) and the Department of Finance using the adverse findings of the Commission on Audit (COA) in the city’s financial transactions in 2013 as his basis in filing the charges.

In a report published in The Freeman, Rama said “Usual man na nga COA will make their findings sa tanang Local Government Units. Pasalamat ta kay naa sila’y mga findings ug hatagan pud ta og opportunity nga mo-esplikar. Ang importante, walay findings sa pagpangawat kay kun naay findings sa pagpangawat, mao nay kuyaw. Ato lang na nga tubagon.”

The Office of the Ombudsman-Visayas had already summoned the mayor to a conference on the afternoon of July 16 to discuss the request of Atty. Reymelio Delute for the anti-graft body to conduct a fact-finding investigation about his actuations when he used the funds for hospital construction for cash assistance of senior citizens and other individuals.

COA had said that using the P300 million money intended for the construction of a new Cebu City Medical Center (CCMC) building to another purpose violates the provisions of the Local Government Code.

It was learned that P203.7 million out of the P300 million appropriation intended for hospital construction were spent for cash assistance of senior citizens, barangay officials, persons with disabilities and honorariums of consultants.

Rama earlier challenged Osmeña, his soon to be political rival in the forthcoming mayoral elections in Cebu City, to take up law because he is always filing charges against his political enemies.

Osmeña said what he is doing is for “good politics” by exposing illegal activities of government officials who are not complying with the provisions of the law and resulted to waste of public funds.

“Ang COA gud bisan og makadiskobre sila og mga anomalies sa government transactions dili man sila mo-file og kaso mao nga as a taxpayer, ako na lang maoy mo-file og kaso in behalf of the people,” the former mayor said.