Rama to clam up on "Mess Cebu"

CEBU, Philippines - Acting Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama has finally decided not to issue any more comments about the mix-up of the announcement of the Miss Cebu 2009 Globe Texter’s Choice Award winner.

 Dr. Rowena Burden, mother of Miss Cebu 2009 2nd runner-up Kimberly Therese Burden, said she may no longer be interested in pursuing a case against some Cebu City officials if Philipp Rodriguez and some personnel of the Cebu City Tourism Commission will be terminated from their posts.

Rodriguez is a CCTC commissioner who was chairman of the beauty pageant, he was assisted by Cynbeth Orellano, a city employee who headed the beauty pageant’s secretariat.

Mayor on-leave Tomas Osmeña earlier advised the city officials not to spend any more time discussing the issue because there are more important issues to be attended to like urban poor matters and the dengue problem.

But Dr. Burden is still hopeful that the mayor, who is expected to arrive back to Cebu City on March 10, will make the appropriate disciplinary action on the case. The younger Burden, a 19-year old physical therapy student of Cebu Doctors’ University College, was not proclaimed winner immediately after the texter’s choice contest even if she was the one who got the highest number of votes.

It was another beauty pageant contestant Kris Tiffany Janson who was announced as the winner of the texter’s choice award and she later won as Miss Cebu 2009.CCTC marketing consultant Bruce Bollozos admitted he gave the wrong information regarding the winner. — Rene U. Borromeo/BRP (THE FREEMAN)