Stop the blame game: Rama

Former Cebu City mayor Michael Rama and the councilors of the Barug Team Rama bloc told the administration to stop playing the “blame game” over alleged mistakes of the past admministration.

In a press conference yesterday, Rama said that when he was mayor, the City Council was composed of councilors from the Bando Osmeña Pundok Kauswagan (BOPK).

Councilor Jose Daluz III ssaid that the BOPK councilors played a vital role in the approval and termination of several programs and projects under the Rama administration.

“That was a very difficult term as there was a transparent obstruction from the then majority bloc. If anything, Mayor Tomas Osmeña is like blaming himself, too, because he had his councilors in the palm of his hands,” he said.

In his State of the City Address last week, Osmeña said he will file charges against those involved in allegedly dubious transactions in the past administration.

He said the City continues to address several problems left by Rama, including garbage, the construction of the Cebu City Medical Center (CCMC) and illegal drugs.

Daluz said it’s unfair to point the finger at Rama alone as the council is responsible for the legislative transactions in the city.

Rama yesterday reiterated that he had been transparent during his term. He challenged Osmeña to make good of his threats and sue him.

“For CCMC, again those were still pledges but the funds generated by the ‘Piso Mo, Hospital Ko’ program has been turned over to the City Treasurer’s Office. It has yet to be turned over to CCMC because it needs to go through council deliberation to be included in the general fund,” Rama said.