Team Rama Eyes to Unseat Finance Chair

The Team Rama bloc in the Cebu City Council is now aiming their guns to Councilor Margarita “Margot” Osmeña as they want to unseat her as chairman of the Committee on Budget and Finance because they described her as the obstructionist of the administrations projects.

Former Councilor Jose Daluz III, now one of Mayor Michael Rama’s trusted assistants, said the Team Rama could not hide its intention that they want that the one who will head the City Council’s budget and finance committee is an ally of the administration who will support their projects.

“Dili nato matago nga naa ta’y katuyoan nga ilisdan si Margot. No personal reason behind it, but just because its politics that we need that the head of the committee on budget would be aligned sa atong partido, sa pagtan-aw sa vision sa atong mayor ug dili kini mahimo nga babag sa iyang mga proyekto,” Daluz said.

It was not decided yet on who of the Team Rama-allied councilors will move during their regular sessions that Councilor Osmeña be replaced from her chairmanship post in the budget and finance committee, dubbed as one of the most powerful committees in the City Council.

At present, BOPK still has nine allies in the City Council after the four Councilors Roberto Cabarrubias, Noel Wenceslao, Gerardo Carillo and Richard Osmeña, bolted from the group.

The Team Rama has five allied Councilors, Nendell Hanz Abella, Mary Ann delos Santos, Dave Tumulak, James Cuenco and Philipp Zafra.

Vice Mayor Edgardo Labella, also a Team Rama ally, will only vote in case of tie.

Osmeña, wife of then Congressman Tomas Osmeña, said she was not surprise when she learned that the Team Rama-allied councilors want that she will be unseated from the committee.

She said it is up to her fellow councilors if they’re no longer trust her to head the committee.

“I will not cry if they decide to unseat me from the committee,” she said.

“Mao g’yud tingali na ang politika. That is a logical consequence. The other camp being very astute in politics cannot feign ignorance. Numbers change and majority always rules,” said Daluz, the one who taught Osmeña on how to handle the job being the chairman of the committee on budget and finance.

Daluz said Osmeña is so meticulous of whatever expenses proposed by the executive department for different projects for the public.

But Osmeña said she was just doing what Daluz had taught to her when she was still a new city legislator in 2010. Daluz previously chaired the committee on budget and finance.

The committee task is to review all proposed resolutions from different councilors and from other groups if the matter involves spending funds then to give a report to the City Council.

For his part, Councilor Richard Osmeña, one of the four city councilors who bolted their alliance with the Bando Osmeña Pundok-Kauswagan (BOPK) and formed their own group called “Independent bloc” in the City Council defended his aunt.

“Dili man g’yud maingon nga babagan sa committee kon ang proposed expenses sa executive department duna lay supporting documents sama sa certificate of availability of funds gikan sa city treasurer ug uban pa nga kinahanglang dukomento,” Councilor Richard Osmeña said.

Councilor Sisinio Andales, one of the BOPK allies in the council, questioned the move to unseat Margot from the committee. “Everybody is entitled sa iyang plano pero ang pangutana kon duna bay balido nga rason paghulip? Duna bay sayop ang pagdala sa maong komitiba? Ngano nga dili man nato huwaton sa Hulyo 2015. Lets not rock the boat at
this time,” he said.

There were speculations that Daluz, the mayor’s representative to the Local Finance Committee, had tried his best for the replacement of Councilor Osmeña from the committee on budget in preparation for the submission of the 2015 Annual Budget.

The law provides that the executive department shall submit the proposed executive budget to the City Council for approval not later than September 16.

Councilor Margot said she heard that Mayor Rama will again propose a huge budget for next year.

When Rama assumed mayor in 2010, he proposed P11.8 Billion Annual Budget for 2012, but it was reduced by the City Council to only P5.8 Billion and the city’s actual collection for that year was only close to P5 billion.