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Thursday, January 13, 2005
Don’t blame me for realignment of bridge repair funds, says mayor
Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña washed his hands of the confusion over the realignment of funds for the repair of the first Mactan-Mandaue Bridge, which reportedly went to the first phase of the South Reclamation Project (SRP).
“Unsay akong sala (What did I do wrong)? Is that my fault if I got it? So what? I got it for the Cebuanos. I did my job. I’m proud of it. I did not steal it,” he told a news conference yesterday, when sought for comment on the issues raised during the meeting of the bridge board.
The mayor said he didn’t have any idea about the realignment of funds, adding that it would be another story if he got it and deposited it in another account for his benefit.
He said it would be unfair for him to get the blame, as he was not the donor who makes the rules on where the funds should go.
Osmeña said the City Government got half of the 20th yen credit package that the Japanese Government extended to the Philippine Government through the Official Development Assistance in 1995.
In a recent meeting of the Mactan Cebu Bridge Management Committee (MCBMC), it was learned that the funds for the construction of a toll plaza and for the repair of the first bridge were used for the SRP.
Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia, who heads the MCBMC, relayed this information from the National Economic Development Authority to
members of the board last Tuesday.
Garcia then suggested that the Regional Development Council (RDC) 7 should discuss this in the next meeting considering that the body was not informed of this realignment.
She said that all realignment of funds involving projects in Region 7 must be properly coordinated with the RDC.
The issue was raised last month when the RDC passed a resolution asking for the funds that were supposed to be for a toll gate plaza. (GAC)
(January 13, 2005 issue)
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