FULL-FLEDGED MAYOR Department of the Interior and Local Government-Central Visayas Regional Director Leocadio Trovela administers the oath of office of Raymond Alvin Garcia as full-fledged Cebu City mayor on Wednesday (Oct. 9, 2024). In a briefing after the installation, Garcia vowed to make the completion of the Cebu City Medical Center a priority agenda of his administration. (Photo courtesy of Cebu City PIO)

CEBU CITY – The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) regional director here installed on Wednesday acting Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia as full-fledged mayor following the dismissal of Mayor Michael Rama.

In his speech after taking his oath of office, Garcia vowed to prioritize improving the healthcare programs of the city.

He cited the need to finish the Cebu City Medical Center (CCMC) to make it fully operational one year after awarding its final works to the winning bidder.

“There will be some changes. In fact, I have been making changes at the very beginning of 30 days after I assumed as city mayor,” Garcia said in a briefing shortly after DILG Regional Director Leocadio Trovela swore him to office as mayor.

He said the CCMC, which is the city-run hospital, “has been in that sorry state in the past 10 years already.”

He added that during his incumbency and beyond the May 2025 mid-term elections, he will personally oversee the completion of the city hospital where works became stagnant for the past three years.

Garcia became acting mayor in May after Rama was suspended over alleged unpaid salaries of city workers.

Shortly after Rama filed his certificate of candidacy, an order from the Office of Ombudsman came out dismissing and perpetually disqualifying him from holding public office over alleged nepotism for appointing the siblings of his second wife into various posts.

“As we progress, in my administration, what floor at CCMC would be finished should be opened so that we can put additional services,” he added.

Meanwhile, Garcia urged city government employees to cooperate with the changes he would make at the Cebu City Hall.

In the briefing, Trovela said the legal remedies done by Rama’s camp would not stop the assumption of Garcia as full-fledged mayor. (PNA)