An irate Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama yesterday challenged former mayor Tomas Osmeña and Joel Marie Yu, managing director of the Cebu Investment Promotions Center Inc. (CIPC) , to name who among them benefited from operations of the center.
He also warned interested donors against making “highly irregular” donations to a group which no longer has a functional board of trustees after five resigned in June 30.
Rama also accused this reporter of writing stories that favor Osmeña.
“Doris, taas raba kaayo ang storya ninyo. Inyo sad unta isuwat (ang ako) aron ma-klaro ninyo (your story is lengthy. You should have written my side as well so so it can be clarified),” he said.
Rama referred to a story in Cebu Daily News’ Enterprises page last Tuesday which quoted Osmeña as saying that there was no “internal conflict” in CIPC.
Osmena , in the report, said Mayor Rama was CIPC’s “problem” because of his refusal to release the city’s annual assistance of P5.4 million to the center.
Osmeña’s comment was in reaction to Rama’s earlier statement that he would not authorize the release of financial aid to CIPIC until it can resolve its “internal conflict.”
(CDN’s reportage of the resignation of CIPC trustees and non-release of City Hall funding has presented all sides, including Mayor Rama’s lamentations, and continues to follow the story. We stand by our reporter and her ability to deliver a full account of a matter of public interest. — Editor in chief/ Publisher.)
In a press conference yesterday, Rama said any professional would not resort to fabricating lies against him.
He said CIPC officials whom he did not name, visited his office a few months ago to air their grievances against Yu.
“Wala man gani ka kahibaw nga mang-resign silang tanan human sila nag pahungaw nako (I didn’t know they would all resign after they ventilated their sentiments to me),” he said.
Rama said it was unfair to accuse him of causing the resignation of several CIPC trustees led by its chairman Geronimo Sta. Ana.
“Ipa klaro ni Joel Yu ug asa siya naka pusta aron makita nga siya diay ang naka ingon (sa resignations), dili ako. Kanang taw nga mag sige ug ingon nga ako ang naka ingon (sa resignations), atubangay kuno ming duha kinsay nangilad? Ingna siya kinsay ni gamit sa CIPC without the approval of the Board of Trustees? Pangutan-a siya kinsay ni gamit sa kwarta sa CIPC? (Have Joel Yu clarify where he stands so we can see that he mentioned about the resignations, not me. This insistence that I mentioned about the resignations, let’s face each other so we can show who made the deception. Tell him who used the CIPC without the approval of the Board of Trustees? Ask him who used the CIPC’s funds),” an irate Rama said.
Asked whom he was referring to, Rama said, he was talking about Yu and “the man who claims to be the founder of CIPC.”
If he authorized the release of the city’s subsidy to CIPC, Rama said it would appear that he confirmed the perception that one person can run the CIPC without the collective decision on its operations.
Rama said like any legitimate body, decisions should be made by its board of trustees and not just by one person.
It was at this point that Rama accused this reporter of not giving him equal space in news reports as Osmeña.
“Diba ni ingon ko nga dili ko mo-dissolve sa CIPC? Kinsa na may akong writer ani? Naa sad unta koy writer ani (Didn’t I say that I won’t dissolve the CIPC? Who will be my writer on this? I hope that I have a writer about this),” Rama said.
(For the record , Mayor Rama’s statement that he would not release City Hall aid to CIPC unless they resolved their internal conflict and his assurance that he would not dissolve CIPC was reported in Cebu Daily News by Doris Bongcac on page 4 in the Sept. 14. issue. She pointed this out to the mayor during yesterday’s press con — Editor in chef)
“I klaro ninyo. I suwat ninyo tanan tanan. Inig basa nako (newspaper) ako na man noon ang gi pasanginlan (Clarify it. Write all of it. When I read the newspaper, I was the one being blamed),” Rama retorted. He was apparently referring to other CDN issues he read upon returning from his trip abroad.