Mike tells P-Noy about ‘breakaway’

CEBU City Mayor Michael Rama made sure President Benigno Aquino III was made aware of his resignation from the Bando Osmeña Pundok Kauswagan (BOPK).

The president acknowledged he received Rama’s text message that he was leaving the local party, which he announced last June 2. The two were not able to talk again, though, until yesterday.

Aquino did not dip his fingers into the issue, but Rama said it doesn’t matter because he just wanted to assure the President that his loyalty continues and he remains a member of the Liberal Party.

“So?” Vice Mayor Joy Augus-tus Young said when he learned that Rama took the “local political concern” to the national level. Young believes the president has too much on his plate to consider intervening in a local issue.

Rama also defended his move to take the matter to the President, saying he did not want the issue to be muddled if the president heard it from someone else.

In yesterday’s brief encounter, he also gave President Aquino an envelope containing documents on the water situation in Cebu, a letter requesting aid to finish the Carbon Market and his accomplishments as Regional Development Council head for the Visayas.

Rama said he still wants to connect with the members of the Cebu City Council and is still extending his invitation for a dinner with them.

Young and some councilors have said they are open to an official meeting with the media present, and would prefer it to another dinner with the mayor.

“Wala’y magbuot nako kay ako man nang imbitasyon (They should not decide for me because it’s my invitation)... (It’s a) fellowship to reduce animosity,” said Rama.

“Wala mi nagbuot (We are not deciding for him), we are just giving a response that we prefer if it’s an official business meeting with the media... He left BOPK. If he wanted fellowship, we are past that already,” said Young.

The vice mayor also explained he wants the meeting to be official, witnessed by the media, because Rama “is always changing his statements.”

“We don’t want any more closed-door meetings,” said Young.

Since Rama announced yesterday that he will be delivering his State of the City Address (SOCA) on July 1 at Plaza Sugbo, Young said it is no longer necessary for the Council to invite Rama to an inaugural session on July 6.

“There is no point in inviting him because there would be a duplication,” said Young.

But Rama said that if he gets an invitation to the July 6 session of the Council, he can deliver a condensed version of his SOCA.

For the mayor’s SOCA on Friday, Rama said his office will send invitations to all elected officials in the city including barangay captains, Rep. Tomas Osmeña (Cebu City, south district) and Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia, among others.

The VIP guest list the mayor’s office submitted to the protocol office includes some 167 names.

No previews of the speech were given.

“Paabot lang kay dili na unya sila ganahan maminaw kung akong isulti daan, taas ra ba akong report kay daghan man ta ug nahimo (People will just have to wait for it, because they might no longer want to listen if I give a preview. It will be a long report, because a lot has been done),” Rama said.

Will other elected officials of the city be around to hear it?

Association of Barangay Councils (ABC) President Michael Ralota said he will be there, if his colleagues in the City Council will also attend.

Young is still undecided on whether or not he should attend Rama’s SOCA this Friday.

Osmeña, for his part, said it’s not necessary for him to be there, but he added the mayor can send him a hard copy of the report.

“Wa’y problema na kung dili motunga kay kung wa sa ko’y ihatag nga invitation, pasanginlan na sab ko nga wa manghatag (No problem if they don’t want to go. I just want to make sure they get an invitation, so they won’t accuse me again of snubbing them),” Rama said.