CEBU CITY BAND

Cebu City had a band that Tomas’s predecessor, Mike Rama, organized. A band is not a symphony orchestra but it served Mike’s purpose: to provide music during City Hall festivities and meet barangay requests for music service -- and to accompany the then mayor when he sang, which was often and could be the reason the band was among the first the new administrators wanted to disband as soon as the baton at City Hall changed hands.

The band reportedly cost an initial outlay of P2 million (presumably for its instruments) plus the monthly pay of musicians working as casual employees.