Rama hits LP Cebu for ‘bus arrests’, warns party of tit for tat

CEBU City Mayor Michael Rama yesterday accused the Liberal Party-Cebu of engaging in dirty “maneuvers” by apprehending buses ferrying supporters to Tuesday’s kick-off rally of the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) at Plaza Independencia.

He warned that when the time comes for LP to campaign in the city, they would have to deal with him in securing a rally permit.

The mayor said any request to lease city government buses needs his approval.

Only one mini-bus was stopped for traveling outside its north-bound travel line without a special permit last Tuesday, according to the Land Transportation Office (LTO). The driver was issued a citation ticket for a P6,000 fine.

Rama, in a press conference, said several vehicles were stopped by the LTO and Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board but gave no specifics.

He chided the LTO for not showing “maximum tolerance”. He said r apprehending the buses was a “cheap gimmick.”

“In a political gathering, maximum tolerance can always come in… They are too much of a legalist. They may have forgotten a constitutional right which is the right to assemble,” he said.

LTO-7 operations chief Macky Getaruelas said only one mini-bus driver was issued a temporary operator’s permit along Sergio Osmeña Street after he failed to present a special permit, which an operator can obtain for P130 from the LTFRB.

Getaruelas said the mini-bus’s route was from Carmen town to the North Bus Terminal and was transporting UNA supporters to the rally site in Cebu City.

Meanwhile, Rama said he was happy that the UNA proclamation rally was “well attended” despite maneuvers from the Liberal Party.

“Ang LTFRB ila. Ang LTO ila. Kinsa pa man di ay atong pasanginlan? (The LTFRB and the LTO are theirs. Who else are we to blame for this?),” he said.

Senior Supt. Mariano Natuel, Cebu City police chief, placed the crowd that attended the proclamation rally at 25,000 at its peak at 6 p.m., later thinning to 10,000 at 9 p.m.

Rama said this was the “minimum” crowd organizers projected for the rally.

Had their supporters reached Plaza Independecia without hitches, the crowd could have reached 70, 000 to 100,000, Rama said. Mayor Rama, who shared the stage with UNA candidates on Tuesday, is the party’s main ally in Cebu City.

Rama said the actions of his detractors showed they were “insecure” about how far UNA has gone in its campaign preparations. With Correspondent Joy Cherry S. Quito