Pay for your trips

I am amazed with how the women judges of Cebu City convinced Cebu City Mayor Mike Rama to sponsor not only their trip to London but also their registration fees for a conference there.

The judiciary should at least pay for their registration fee.  It would be too much if the city government shouldered all their expenses.

The judicial branch should invest in the continuing education of the judges. As a lawyer friend said, to pass to the city government the responsibility of sponsoring the fees of the lady judges is scandalous and abusive.

In a related development court, workers are also asking City Hall to shoulder the expenses for their travel to another province.

Luckily for them Mayor Mike Rama is generous and the city government will fund the travel.

The court employees should be more prudent next time, taking into consideration the separation of powers between the executive and the judicial branches.

Mayor Rama is opening a Pandora’s box that he may not be able to close. There may come a time when many will take advantage of his generosity.

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I do not know why Filinvest is making it difficult for the City of Cebu to collect payment from the company for their purchase of a parcel of land from the South Road Properties.

Their investment is protected by law and they should not be threatened by the Rallos heirs, who cannot auction the Filinvest property because it is amply protected by the law.

As far as the current city administration is concerned, the claim of the heirs of the Ralloses is untenable for many reasons.

First, the Ralloses do not have a valid claim on the city since their controversial property was already paid for by the city government in the amount of about 50 million though it should have cost about P40 million when Judge Geraldine Ycong was still in Cebu.

Second, the property was donated by the original Rallos and this was approved by the Court of First Instance.

Third, the controversial property was never been used by the city government because it is occupied by informal settlers.

I think it is important for the public to see for themselves the actual situation of the property for them assess the situation.

As a matter of fact, I was also curious why the city government is adamant against paying the heirs of the Rallos family until Mayor Rama explained to me his position.

Rama said his position is based on protecting the interest of the people of Cebu City. Rama said that it is not his money but the people’s would be used for payment. This is why he is fighting against paying tooth and nail.

This case, he said, started in the previous administrations, and if they had done their job, this problem would have not confronted the current administration.

I am in a quandary why Congressman Tommy Osmeña wants the city government to pay the Ralloses. Why are the heirs of the Rallos family  so bold in advancing a claim that is highly questionable?

Even the claimants’ assertion that they are the rightful Rallos heirs is questionable.