FORMER Cebu City mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia has denied allegations of extravagant spending during his term, clarifying that the luxury SUV purchase cited by Vice Mayor Tomas Osmeña was never completed and was not paid for by the Cebu City Government.
In a phone interview on Thursday, July 3, 2025, following Osmeña’s remarks describing the P4.4 million BYD Tang acquisition as “vulgar” and overpriced, Garcia said the transaction was canceled and the unit returned to the dealer.
“Na-cancel naman toh nga transaction. In fact, the City Government has not paid a single centavo on it,” Garcia said.
(That transaction was already canceled. In fact, the City Government did not pay a single centavo for it.)
He explained that while his office initially endorsed the proposed purchase, he requested a legal opinion from the City Legal Office before proceeding.
“Pag gawas sa City Legal Opinion (was unfavorable), kay ako dayun gipa-cancel. Wala gyud nabayran ang City Government,” he added.
(When the legal opinion came out unfavorably, I immediately had the transaction canceled. The City never paid for it.)
Garcia said the vehicle was returned before he left office in June 2025.
Architect Florante Catalan, head of the Office of the Building Official (OBO), confirmed Garcia’s statement, saying the BYD Tang unit was indeed returned to the dealer.
Catalan added that the vehicle was under his office’s custody for about a week for testing purposes, but the procurement did not push through.
"The purchase did not push through," Catalan said, declining to provide further details and referring inquiries to the Bids and Awards Committee. (EHP)