Rama could face another ban

CEBU CITY, Philippines – Former Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña has something to say about the latest issue surrounding current Mayor Michael Rama.

“I’m sad that I might not be able to vote against him,” Osmeña said.

Osmeña also called on Rama to resign as president of the country’s City Mayors’ League, saying the suspension order was “an embarrassment to every mayor in the Philippines.”

“Rama should resign as president of the City Mayors’ League as it is a disgrace to every mayor in the Philippines that he is their ‘model’ mayor,” he said.

Recently, the Ombudsman ordered Rama to be suspended for six months as a precautionary measure over a case involving the city’s inability to pay the salaries of several of its employees.

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Cebu City Mayor Mike Rama has been suspended for six months

Suspension is an embarrassment for Cebu City

But according to Osmeña, the embattled mayor, who also happens to be his political opponent, faces another suspension.

“And a fourth suspension is imminent for the destruction of government property of the Cebu Port Authority. (His second suspension was also due to the destruction of the Brgy Labangon infrastructure project.),” he said.

Osmeña also described the recent suspension order that Rama faced as another embarrassment for Cebu City.

“Here in Cebu City, we have already gotten used to being embarrassed as this is his third suspension… No mayor of Cebu City has ever been suspended, so Rama beats all previous mayors of the city by three to zero,” he added .

The State Anti-Corruption Investigation Agency issued an eight-page resolution on May 2, 2024, seeking to suspend Rama and seven other City Hall officials for serious misconduct and disorderly conduct toward a public official and conduct prejudicial to the welfare of a public official, among others .

The decision arose in a case involving the transfer of several city hall employees, which resulted in the city administration not paying them their wages for ten months.

Rama’s camp has not commented further on the development, adding that they have not received a copy of the Ombudsman’s orders.

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