Mayor Rama stands firm vs people’s initiative: “City not for sale”

CEBU, Philippines — Cebu City Mayor Mike Rama has strongly opposed the People’s Initiative (PI) movement, saying it only serves the interest of Congress.

“I am very emphatic, Cebu City is not for sale if you talk about People’s initiative!” Mayor Rama told reporters yesterday.

“I’ve been very clear, it’s not the people initiating…it’s Congress initiating. So it has become a Congressional initiative,” added Rama.

Last Sunday, a prayer rally was held in Davao City to oppose the PI for Charter Change (Cha-cha), which was also launched through the administration’s Bagong Pilipinas kickoff rally at the Quirino Grandstand.

Former President Rodrigo Duterte and Vice President Sara Duterte attended the prayer rally in Davao, while President Ferdinand Bongbong Marcos led the Bagong Pilipinas rally in Manila.

Rama, who is the vice president for the Visayas for PDP-Laban, was not able to attend the prayer rally in Davao City as he just got back from Singapore for an official business.

During the prayer rally in Davao, former President Duterte questioned the administration’s intentions for the so-called PI.

Duterte also repeatedly called PBBM a “drug addict” during the rally.

Rama, who is identified as a friend of both PBBM, Vice President Sara Duterte, and former President Duterte, said it saddens him that this is all happening.

“It is a cause for alarm, really a cause for alarm. I cannot even say if there’s light at the end of the tunnel. I’m telling you (this) with all candidness. All those accusations are very, very, very, very serious. All those pronouncements that I’ve heard are very vital,” Mayor Rama said.

Following the accusations of ex-President PRRD on PBBM and those behind the People’s Initiative, Rama asked everyone for prayers for the country.

“We pray, we have to pray. I cannot be a spokesman of the (former) President, neither I be the spokesman of BBM. These are accusations that need to be answered. It has to be answered, because it will not be answered intelligently and very circumspect, then we will have a problem,” Rama said.

Rama is also calling on other PDP-Laban officials to convene this week to make a unified stand following ex-President Duterte’s pronouncements made in Davao.

“We have to convene, the party has to convene. We cannot just let our chairman be alone because he made a stand, we have to discuss, if that stand whether it is a party stand, we have to support him,” Rama said.

Rama said he supports PRRD, even telling the latter to hang on to his position as chairman of PDP-Laban when the latter wanted to resign. At the same time, Rama remains confident that his friendship with PBBM stays.

As mayor of Cebu City though, Rama said he wants to “settle and focus on local matters first.” At the same time, as president of the League of the Cities of the Philippines, Rama said he believed that all issues will be addressed intelligently. — (FREEMAN)