Cebu City govt to sue Capitol legal team

CEBU, Philippines — Cebu City Mayor Mike Rama has ordered the city government’s lawyers to file charges against the Capitol’s legal consultants for their accusations against City Administrator Collin Rosell.

This after Capitol legal consultants Rory John Sepulveda and Benjamin Cabrido, and Provincial legal officer Donato Villa recently said that Rosell was malicious in his implications on the Capitol’s participation in the controversy between the Cebu City Government and the Metropolitan Cebu Water District (MCWD).

The Capitol consultants, in a press conference, further said that Rosell breached confidentiality when he, in a Facebook live, mentioned disadvantages in the contract between MCWD and the Cebu Manila Water Development Inc. (CMWD).

Rosell reportedly got the said information when he was still a Capitol legal consultant in 2019 to 2022, hence violating confidentiality.

Cabrido further pointed out that he was taken aback when Rosell mentioned such disadvantages in the agreement between MCWD and CMWDI when in fact it was Rosell who made the legal opinion in the contract.

CMWD is a joint investment firm by the Cebu Provincial Government and Manila Water Consortium, Inc.

Rama, for his part, said to accuse his administrator means the Capitol is also accusing him.

“When they accused my city administrator, I am the one being accused to. That is why I am taking the cudgels to defend,” said Rama.

Rama assured Rosell that the city’s battery of lawyers, as well as the law firm of his son, Atty. Mikel Rama, will support him.

Rosell, for his part remains unbothered, saying he did not violate attorney-client privilege as the deal between CMWDI and the Capitol was done in 2013 or six years before he became a Capitol consultant.

At that time, Rosell was still serving as head of the city’s Division for the Welfare of the Urban Poor (DWUP).

“Even if you will examine the records, there’s no such thing as breach of confidentiality, lawyer-client…If you are consultant from 2019 to 2022 ba ron, kana nga span. Remember the document talking about the transaction with MCWD, its dated 2013.Where am I during that time? Here at the City of Cebu with Rene Mercado being the chairman of the MCWD. Therefore that document already existed,” Rosell said.

Rosell said there was no malice intended in his statements.

“If it is a public document, the Constitution tells us that the state adopts and implement a policy of full disclosure of all transactions involving public interest. That is public interest. At any angle, there is no such thing as malicious (intent), there’s no such thing. From the point that the document that really showed nga naay transaction in 2013, I was not there, I was here at the City of Cebu. I was the head of DWUP,” Rosell stressed.

Rosell further clarified that his recent ties with the Capitol was just as a consultant on real property and recovery.

Rosell said it seems that the Capitol legal consultants misappreciated everything and since their accusations were publicized, “there can be legal consequences” to it. — (FREEMAN)