Bring the suit on

The Rama family welcomes the suit filed with the Office of the Ombudsman in the Visayas by Rep. Tomas Osmeña against Cebu City Mayor Mike Rama who was accused of  bullying City Hall  department heads especially during  budget hearings.

At least the anti-graft office can now determine who is bullying who in the city government.

Mayor Rama is not the bullying type. But we encourage the Visayas Ombudsman to boldly decide on the case.

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President Benigno Aquino III  met yesterday with Mayor Rama and Congresswoman Cutie del Mar of Cebu City’s north district to address  the controversy over  Del Mar’s flyover projects.

I am hoping that the president will  end the dispute by upholding principles of good governance.   I still believe that it’s  important for Cebu City to have a master plan to rationalize  requirements of an urban road network.

Congressmen, as national officials, should respect local government officials and residents when it comes to decisions affecting the city.

While we respect the decisions of the congressmen, they should not impose their will as if Cebu City is their small kingdom. It is best for the President to help resolve the controversy because it is dividing the people.

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Senators Miriam Santiago and Gregorio Honasan warned the President against throwing former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo into a detention cell.  They fear this  may cause a backlash from foreign investors.

I don’t  understand their apprehension.  So far what they feared would happen never took place in South Korea where corrupt leaders were put in prison.

I think it would be good for the government to apply the law justly regardless of the personalities involved. If the legal basis for the arrest and detention of the former president passes the scrutiny of the Supreme Court, then she should be sent to jail and be held accountable for misdeeds during her presidency.

Now it is very clear that  lawyers of the former president tried faking the real health condition of the president to make it appear that she direly needed to go abroad to seek medical treatment. But her doctors revealed the real deal.

Arroyo does not require medical treatment abroad. She can be cared for by  doctor here as an outpatient. After the revelation of the doctors, Arroyo’s lawyers are now seeking house arrest for her.

What the doctors did was a slap on the faces of Arroyo’s lawyers and spokespersons who have been making pronouncements  about her health as if they were doctors. So thank you to the personal doctors of GMA who were courageous enough to be honest. They made  their fellow doctors, the Philippine Medical Association and the Filipino people  proud of them.

I think the Integrated Bar of the Philippines should look into the professional conduct of GMA’s lawyers.  They only reinforced the impression that lawyers are agents of deception.