Rama: I will run for mayor in 2019

CEBU, Philippines — The next elections won’t come until after a year but former Cebu City mayor Michael Rama has already expressed his intention to take the city leadership back.

Yesterday, amid reports he was enjoying a fairly high trust rating, Rama confirmed his plans to run for mayor in 2019.

“I won and I was cheated. I must win again. As Barug Team Rama, I am running for mayor,” he told The FREEMAN over the phone.

He clarified though that the team will still meet to discuss once again its plans for the local elections next year, adding that nothing can be considered final until a certificate of candidacy is filed.

Even then, the former mayor said Team Rama already has a lineup that he declined to reveal for now.

Asked for his reaction on Rama’s plan, Vice Mayor Edgardo Labella said the group has to come up with a consensus, considering the coalition Team Rama forged with PDP-Laban.

“Not yet, we still have to discuss it together with the members. We only have to put one candidate. He wants to run as mayor but it is still to be discussed by the group. There is a qualification when he said that,” Labella said.

City Councilor Raymond Alvin Garcia also said he will still wait for the party consultation.

“We are a coalition, so we will decide as a coalition. I respect the decision of (Rama). But huwat lang gyud ko sa consultation and then we will decide. If siya gyud atong candidate for mayor, I will support him,” said Garcia.

On a separate note, Rama welcomed the results of a Social Weather Station survey that showed him being more trusted by Cebu City’s voters than Presidential Assistant for the Visayas Michael Lloyd Dino.

He said he has a track record of implementing many projects during his two terms as mayor of Cebu City.

“What will I do is to continue to be who I am, who I was, and who I will be. I do not have to compare myself to Dino because I have a track record. I do not have any corruption and I have more projects being completed in two terms than any mayor can have,” Rama said.

The survey, commissioned by lawyer Paul Najudne and conducted from April 29 to May 1, 2018 in Cebu City’s two districts, showed Rama had a net trust rating +32, while Dino got +9.

To recall, Rama was not included when members of Team Rama were recruited into the folds of the administration party PDP-Laban, purportedly because he was tagged by the president as a narco official.

After the May 14 polls, the Bando Osmeña-Pundok Kauswagan of Mayor Tomas Osmeña claimed 49 barangays compared to Team Rama’s 31. — Marienel M. Janea, CNU Intern/JMD (FREEMAN)