Osmeña: No comments vs. police, for now
Those who want to get updates from the Office of the Cebu City Mayor will just have to turn to Facebook.
Beginning yesterday, Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña said he will not be holding a news conference and that he will just answer all issues concerning the police on Sept. 9 when they hold a thanksgiving mass and a rally.
Reporters covering City Hall were supposed to attend the mayor’s regular news conference yesterday, but Osmeña said that starting yesterday, he will no longer hold his daily news conference to answer questions from the media.
“No more press con (press conference). I’ll just give my comments on Facebook,” he told reporters. He did not explain and did not say what the rally is for.
For several years now, the mayor’s Facebook page “Tommy Osmeña,” which has 630,923 followers, has been his platform to announce new policies, comment on current events or issues, and to solicit public opinion.
In recent weeks, Osmeña has been criticizing the police over killings in the city, including what he claimed was a foiled ambush on Tejero Barangay Captain Jessielou Cadungog.
In his news conference last Aug. 9, Osmeña announced that he will sponsor a thanksgiving mass on Sept. 9 in time for the commemoration of the birthday of Sergio Osmeña Sr., the former president and grandfather of the mayor.
In a separate interview, Councilor Margarita Osmeña said they will offer a thanksgiving mass for the positive developments in the city.
She cited the signing of the deed of donation and acceptance of the Province-owned lots, the election of Kasambagan Barangay Captain Franklin Ong as Association of Barangay Councils president and Jessica Resch as Sangguniang Kabataan Federation president, and the approval of the P18-billion Kawit Island development, among other events.
“There are so many things to be thankful for,” she said.
When sought for comment on the development, Vice Mayor Edgardo Labella told reporters that “it’s the mayor’s prerogative” to do so. He did not elaborate.