Tuesday, November 25, 2008 Rama tells 2 officials to keep City Hall posts By Linette C. Ramos Sun.Star Staff Reporter
AFTER calling for unity in Cebu City Hall yesterday, Acting Mayor Michael Rama asked the two high-ranking officials who offered to resign not to submit their letters of courtesy resignation, saying there is no need for it.
Rama said yesterday that he has full trust and confidence in City Administrator Francisco Fernandez and City Planning and Development Coordinator Nigel Paul Villarete that he would want to keep them in City Hall.
Both officials decided yesterday not to submit their letters of resignation after Rama asked them to do away with it.
City Attorney Rodolfo Golez also submitted his letter of courtesy resignation yesterday afternoon, but Rama also did not accept it.
The three officials offered their courtesy resignation to give Rama the choice of a city administrator, city planning officer and city attorney in whom he has full trust and confidence.
“As far as I’m concerned, it’s a non-issue. Everyone is requested to work as one. This is the time to be united. If somebody cannot work with us, let me know so we can find another one and when the right time comes, on Dec. 9, I will decide,” Rama told a news conference yesterday noon.
Hours before that, he addressed city officials and employees during the flag ceremony and told them that there will be no resignations and city officials stand united in running the city.
Rama also asked everyone for their cooperation to make sure that City Hall operations run smoothly and public services are delivered efficiently while Mayor Tomas Osmeña is on indefinite leave to seek treatment for urinary bladder cancer in the US.
When asked if, like Osmeña, he fully trusts Fernandez and Villarete, he said: “Of course, they are Tommy’s choice and when Tommy made a choice, it should not be a problem with me because I can work with anyone, and I hope everyone can also adjust with me.”
Besides, he said, the Local Government Code prohibits him from hiring, appointing, suspending and terminating the services of employees until Dec. 9.
Rama will be on his first month as acting mayor on this date, which is also the time when the 30-day period on the prohibition to hire, terminate and appoint personnel will lapse.
Fearing a backlash on the current administration, City Information Officer and South Road Properties (SRP) Chief Operations Officer Nagiel Bañacia said that unlike Fernandez, Villarete and Golez, he will not tender a courtesy resignation.
In a phone interview last night, he said that any resignation at this time will not be good for the administration and the City Government, which is at the peak of negotiations for the sale of the SRP.
“It will appear like I have no vote of confidence for Acting Mayor Rama. It will have a negative effect on the administration, it will appear like we are disintegrating. This is a very crucial time because we are almost done with the negotiations for the sale,” Bañacia said.
He currently holds three positions at City Hall—the SRP chief operations officer, protocol officer and information officer, whose term of office is coterminous with the mayor’s.
“I’m holding three offices right now and if the acting mayor doesn’t need my services, all he has to do is disapprove the renewal of my contract in January. If he doesn’t trust me, all he has to do is not sign my appointment papers,” Bañacia said.
If he had his way, Rama said he would not want to receive any more letter of resignation.
“This is not my term. This is Tommy’s term and I’m just filling it up because he is not around... It will be highly immoral to do something like he does not exist,” Rama added.
Fernandez and Villarete said yesterday that they are grateful to Rama for keeping them.
They said they had to express their courtesy resignation out of delicadeza and as a sign of respect for Rama.
Both officials had planned to submit their letters of courtesy resignation on Dec. 9, when the 30-day period prohibiting the acting mayor from appointing an employee or terminating an employee his service has lapsed.
Fernandez said that Osmeña called him yesterday morning asking why he plans to make a courtesy resignation.
“He asked why I did it and I told him I did it for my own delicadeza. Then he said it was a good move on my part if I did it out of courtesy for Mike, more so that Mike has already refused. And I’m very grateful to the acting mayor for asking me to stay,” he told reporters yesterday.
