City Hall vehicles with no markings, no travel – Rama

CEBU  City government vehicles that do not have City Hall markings will no longer be given gasoline, Mayor Michael Rama said.

“Walay exemptions. Ako man gani ako man gi butangan akong sakyanan ug for official use only bisan naa na nay (vanity) plate nga mayor,” he said.

(There will be no exemption. Even my official car that does not have ‘for official use only’ but with the vanity plate ‘mayor’.)

In September, Rama also ordered a cut in the gasoline allocation for all city and barangay vehicles as an austerity measure because of the city’s depleting gas supply.

Gas allocation for councilors for example was cut from 400 to only 200 liters while the allocation for barangay vehicles was cut from 300 liters to 150 liters.  Rama said that he is devising other austerity measures to make sure that City Hall resources are not wasted.

Government Services Office head Rolando Ardosa has said that the P15 million for additional gas and diesel purchase which the City Council approved as part of supplemental budget 2 (SB2) is not enough to last the year.

Ardosa proposed P30 million for additional gas and diesel in SB2, but councilors felt that the appropriation was more than enough for the city’s needs. Councilor Rodrigo Abellanosa said that allocating 30 per cent of the P100 million gas allocation for the year is more than enough to address the city’s fuel needs for until December 31.

Rama said he is duty bound as mayor to implement measures that will maximize the use of the city’s resources.  But he said that vehicles that are without city hall markings and those with tampered plate numbers are not that many.  He said he will also be asking GSO to do an inventory of the vehicles.

“At least they will know that nobody is above the law. They are not exempted,” he said.