Council tells Rama: No dinner, just meeting for us

ANOTHER invitation to a dinner meeting sent by Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama to the City Council was met this time with frosty rejection.

“(The) mayor’s office called inviting the whole council to dinner Tuesday. My response, no dinner. Just meeting can be (held) at his office (and) also (it) must be open to (the) media,” Vice Mayor Joy Augustus Young’s text message read.

Personnel from the mayor’s office called up Young and 18 councilors yesterday afternoon to inform them of the mayor’s dinner invitation in a restaurant located within the Cebu Business Park.

Dinner invitations were sent two weeks before the council convenes on July 6 for their inaugural session.

Young said in an earlier interview that the council may decide to have a simpler session on July 6 in lieu of an annual inaugural session.

For their July 6 session, Young said the council may also agree to do away with the mayor’s State of the City Address (SOCA).

He also asked Rama to wait until he gets his invitation. He said their preparations are yet to be finalized.

Rama’s dinner invitation was already the second that he sent to city officials since he left Bando Osmeña-Pundok Kauswagan (BO-PK) last June 2. The first dinner meeting was held last June 10.

The mayor could not be reached on the matter yesterday afternoon.

Councilor Alvin Dizon said the dinner was unnecessary and expensive.

“We should avoid conducting meetings outside of city hall to save taxpayers’ money. Mike can meet with us in his office. But it must be opened to the media in the spirit of transparency”.

In an interview after he presided yesterday’s Regional Development Council meeting, Rama said there will be a revamp of department heads and offices. Chief of Reporters Doris C. Bongcac