AN OFFICIAL from Surigao del Norte is asking Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña to reconsider his decision to cancel the City Government’s donation to a town in the province that was struck by earthquake last February.
In an interview with SunStar Cebu, Surigao del Norte First District Rep. Bingo Matugas said the mayor of San Francisco, which was the donation beneficiary, did not ignore the City’s cash aid.
The town mayor even sent an acknowledgment letter dated Oct. 5 to Osmeña, thanking the latter for the City’s gesture.
“They were informed of the process that has to be followed and they were just waiting for further instructions. Since the letter was sent, they did not receive any instruction from the City Government,” Matugas said.
Osmeña decided to divert the P12.3 million worth of cash aid that the City was supposed to extend to Ormoc City in Leyte and San Francisco to families of fallen soldiers, who fought in Marawi City because he was disappointed by the lack of effort on the side of the beneficiaries.
Ormoc City Mayor Richard Gomez also wrote Osmeña, asking the latter to reconsider his decision and apologized for any miscommunication.
But Osmeña, in his news conference yesterday, said his decision was final.
“It’s our money and they’re not even polite. We’re going out of our way to help them and they just say, send us the money. I will not send the money. You don’t like it, it’s okay. It’s final from my stand point and I don’t want to talk about it anymore,” he said.
Osmeña said the City can help them if they’re hit by another disaster.
Opposition councilors also hoped that Osmeña would reconsider his decision.
Councilor Raymond Garcia said the mayor should be very cautious with his statements since Ormoc and San Francisco have yet to recover from the disaster. (RVC)