EDITORIAL - Mike must return the van

There is now furor over a city vehicle still being used by former mayor Michael Rama that the city wants him to return.

The vehicle in question is a Toyota Hi-Ace Super Grandia van, and a bulletproof one at that.

The city has asked him to return the vehicle and he has refused saying it was still his “official vehicle”.

“My vehicle, my official vehicle?” he responded when asked if he would return the van.

Like we said in a previous editorial, Rama may still claim to be the mayor, but the fact is that the Department of the Interior and Local Government has designated someone else to be Cebu City mayor, that person has taken the oath to be mayor, and that same person is now in charge of City Hall and running the city as its mayor.

The person calling the shots and the person whose orders are being followed right now is someone else, and not Rama, no matter what he wants to call himself.

Whether or not his suspension was justified or if he is being persecuted politically isn’t really the issue here. This move can even be seen as a way to harass him and take a leg out from under him, and it may actually be the case. But again, like we said, that isn’t really the issue here.

With Rama not being the mayor right now, and not even a public official of any capacity, that means he doesn’t get to use official government vehicles anymore, plain and simple.

We aren’t saying he can never be mayor again. If he wins the midterm elections, then not only will he be mayor again, but he also gets to use all the official vehicles he wants to. It’s just that he isn’t really the mayor right now and shouldn’t be able to use government items or property, and that includes vehicles that belong to the city government.