Rama off to Taipei, Kaoshiung for talks

CEBU City Mayor Michael Rama left yesterday morning for Taiwan to lobby for the country’s bid to host the 11th International Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies (EASTS) conference in 2015.

He will also be traveling to Kaoshiung City on Monday to attend the 2013 Asia Pacific Cities Summit (APCS) where he was invited to speak about the Cebu’s sister cities relations with the Taiwanese city.

In his absence, Vice Mayor Edgar Labella will be the acting mayor.

Rama is expected to return on Sept. 12.

The mayor was accompanied by his legal adviser Jocelyn Pesquera and some members of the Transportation Science Society of the Philippines (TSSP) led by its incoming president Dr. Reynaldo Vea.

Outgoing TSSP president Hussein Lidasan invited Rama to the Taipei meeting. Lidasan in his letter asked the mayor to personally support TSSP’s bid to host the 11th EASTS conference here in 2015.

TSSP is spending for Rama’s airfare and hotel accommodation in Taipei.

Rama first met with TSSP officials when he attended their 20th annual conference held at the Marco Polo Plaza Hotel last August 9, 2013.

Meanwhile, Kaoshiung City Mayor Chen Chu told Rama that they would shoulder Rama’s travel expenses to their city.

Tireless efforts

“Being well aware of the mayor’s tireless efforts to create a city renowned for its urban and economic development complementing your city’s scenic beauty, it is these historic contributions that are the precise reason for extending a kind invitation to the Mayor to address this particular subject area in our panel workshop,” said Chu in a two-page letter,

The APCS was first launched in Brisbane 16 years ago and was attended by 1,160 delegates from 115 participating cities in 2011.