Mayor on ‘blocklist: Probe first’

CEBU City Mayor Michael Rama said he will have the complaint against Pagtambayayong Foundation investigated first before taking any action.
He said it was too early to be deciding on blacklisting the group, as recommended by the head of the urban poor office.

Rama said he hasn’t seen yet the letter complaint of resettled Kamagayan homeowners in barangay Cubacub, Mandaue City.

The complainants asked the city to investigate the status of P1.6 million paid by association members to Pagtambayayong from 2000 to 2007 for the city-owned lot they were relocated to in Mandaue after their houses in Kamagayan were demolished.

They also claimed that non-Kamagayan beneficiaries were accommodated at the relocation site.

Mayor Rama said that whatever action the city takes after the investigation should not be viewed as his way of getting back at Francisco “Bimbo” Fernandez, who heads the foundation.

Fernandez, the former Cebu city administrator, led the filing of criminal and admnistrative complaints against Rama for clearing a portion of the Mahiga Creek of 32 shanties. The court did not issue a retraining order to stop the demolitions.

“If there is a reason to do that (blacklistingof the foundation at City Hall) because the complaint is loaded, then we may do it,” said Rama.

He said lawyer Collin Rosell, Department for the Welfare of the Urban Poor (DWUP) head, told him about the complaint.

Rama said he wanted a copy of Rosell’s report furnished to the city legal office for review to guide what action to take.

“If the city was hoodwinked or if its constituents were hoodwinked, then the city can come in on behalf of those prejudiced,” Rama said, including legal action against the foundation.

Fernandez, in a separate interview, said he would only worry about being blacklisted if he’s barred from visiting City Hall.

He said that Pagtambayayong was not involved in the disposal of the Cubacub land and that the foundation’s role was limited to construction of houses for the urban poor beneficiaries.

“Sa yuta wala gyud mi naka dawat ug usa ka daku.. Makiha mi ug estafa ug mo kobra mi ug para sa yuta,” he said.

Fernandez said he invited the supposed beneficiaries to the Pagtambayayong office on Saturday so they could compare records but they did not go.

“If there are records of that with DWUP or the city legal office, there’s no problem. I would go anytime. He said the foundation doesn’t receiving financial aid from the Cebu City government even during the term of then mayor Tomas Osmeña.

He said the P1-million assistance that the foundation received didn’t come from the city’s coffers but from Sen. Miquel Zubiri. Correspondent Edison A. delos Angeles with a report from Chief of Reporters Doris C. Bongcac