LOCAL opposition figure Joel Garganera yesterday criticized Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña for thinking that the Cebuanos will be scared by saying that chaos will happen if towing is stopped, after the Tinago barangay councilor and other car owners filed a case in court.

He said the mayor is now saying he will obey the law, which Osmeña should have done from the start, instead of skirting the requirements in hiring Road Warriors Towing and Motor Services and One Stop Towing Service.

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Garganera said Osmeña missed the point when he warned that the City will suffer chaos if towing is stopped.

Osmeña, he said, is like a father who tells his family that they have nothing to eat because the stolen food he bought for a discount was seized.

“He did not follow the procedure in procuring the towing service. Wala’y public bidding. Nihatag siya’g provisional authority bisan walay kontrata,” Garganera said.

He said they were forced to file a complaint against the City’s towing operations as a last resort because the mayor has refused to listen to the people.

Agreement

Garganera also criticized the city council for coming up with a proposed memorandum of agreement between the City and the towing companies.

This, he said, would not erase the fact that One Stop started towing for the City last year without any contract.

The mayor, Garganera said, should have obeyed the law from the start by having the towing service undergo bidding and securing authority from the city council.

Garganera, Tinago barangay council, and nine others filed a civil case against Osmeña and other officials over City Hall’s towing operations at the Regional Trial Court Tuesday afternoon.

Aside from the mayor, the suit named as respondents Vice Mayor Michael Rama, the Cebu City Council, City Traffic Operations Management (Citom) Executive Officer Arnel Tancinco, the Citom board, the city treasurer, registered One Stop Towing Services owner Wilfredo Evardome and alleged Road Warriors Towing and Motor Services owner Rosa Fe Pagador.

The complainants’ legal counsel Neil Nuñez said his clients are seeking a refund for the charges they paid to Citom.

The fees reportedly went directly to the towing companies before the city treasurer corrected the system.

The complaint was the third of Garganera’s actions against the City’s towing operations.

Last May 6, he sent a letter-complaint to the Commission on Audit and on June 2, he complained to the Bureau of Internal Revenue about the matter.

“All we want for the mayor is for him to do the right thing,” Garganera said.