I am happy and Cebuanos should welcome the decision of the Supreme Court dismissing the indirect contempt case filed by heirs of the Rallos family against Cebu City Mayor Mike Rama and the City Council. This stemmed from a case that was filed to seek payment from the city government for expropriation of their property that has been contested by Mayor Rama and his administration.
The Rama administration has refused to pay the Rallos heirs for lack of a valid claim against the city because of a convenio executed and approved by the Court of First Instance in the 1940s. Mayor Rama is basically protecting the interests of Cebu city residents. He has a different view from that of former Mayor Tommy Osmeña who believes that the Rallos heirs should be paid by the city government because of a Supreme Court decision and insists on this up to now when he is no longer the chief executive.
However, the Supreme Court decision was based on a mere technicality and not on the merits. As a matter of fact, the past Osmeña administration already paid the heirs of Rallos the amount of P56 million. The P56 million payment could be considered irregular because it was done without the approval and ratification of the City Council, a requirement of the Local Government Code. I think it is best that the issue be brought to the courts to finally settle the legality of the past payment.
Recently the Supreme Court dismissed the petition for indirect contempt against Rama and the rest of the officials because of forum shopping. And the Supreme Court reminded the petitioner that any money claim against the city government should be made before the Commission on Audit. Mayor Rama is not succumbing to the claim of the Rallos family. It makes one wonder why Osmeña and the Bando Osmeña-Pundok Kauswaga-dominated council are very keen on paying the Rallos family.
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The war in Zamboanga City is on its third week. Contrary to the declaration of the government, there seems to be no end in sight. The military is pursuing a military offensive to end the rebellion by the MNLF Misuari faction. The conflict has displaced thousands of civilians. I am just hoping and praying like many Filipinos that we can resolve the conflict in Mindanao peacefully because it has brought so much suffering to Zamboanga city residents.
I think the military approach is not the best way to resolve the conflict. We have been pursuing the military strategy for three weeks and have not seen any concrete improvement. But it is taking its toll on Zamboanga residents, many of whom are now in evacuation centers. Some have come to Cebu.
As the war progresses, the island of Mindanao has missed many opportunities to grow with the entire nation. The Philippine government should be more creative in its approach especially now that we have the upper hand with a credible government. We should be able to dictate our terms for the peaceful settlement of the conflict in Mindanao.