CEBU City Mayor Michael Rama will file a “tsunami” of lawsuits against those who sued him and his department heads.
“Kami sad, pusot-pusot sad mi’g file og kaso, uy (We too will file many cases),” said Rama in an interview over the Cebu City Public Information Office (PIO) online program, Tuesday, April 30, 2024.
The Metropolitan Cebu Water District (MCWD) and the Cebu Port Authority (CPA) separately filed a complaint against Rama before the Office of the President on Monday, April 29.
The MCWD filed a complaint against Rama for grave misconduct, grave abuse of authority and oppression, accusing him of being behind the “illegal intrusion” of the Cebu City personnel into the MCWD main office in downtown Cebu City.
MCWD also filed the same complaint against Cebu City Administrator Collin Rosell, City Budget Officer Jerone Castillo, City Legal Officer Carlo Vincent Gimena, City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office head Harold Alcontin and City Transportation Office Head Raquel Arce before the Office of the Ombudsman on the same day.
The CPA, meanwhile, also filed a 34-page administrative complaint against the mayor for his alleged violation of Administrative Order 23 or oppression, misconduct in office, gross negligence or dereliction of duty and abuse of authority.
The CPA’s move came weeks after some officials and personnel of Cebu City Hall went to the port area and reportedly installed rail fences to block the entrance to the CPA’s port extension project located across the Compania Maritima, which the CPA described as “acts of impermissible encroachment into the territorial jurisdiction of CPA.”
Rama said he was not surprised by MCWD’s and CPA’s move.
“What else is new?” Rama said.
Rama also hit MCWD board of director (BOD) Chairman Jose Daluz III, members Miguelito Pato and Jodelyn May Seno and General Manager Edgar Donoso, who were all suspended by the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA), whom he said, dared to sue him when their status at the water district are under question.
LWUA suspended Daluz, Pato, and Seno for six months starting March 15, while an interim BOD was created to make a partial intervention in the water district.
Rama also said he will uphold the City’s local autonomy guaranteed by the Local Government Code of 1991.
Rama has ordered Rosell to convene the City’s lawyers to “brainstorm their next legal move.”