2 weeks ago
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CEBU CITY — After weeks of defiance, dismissed mayor Michael Rama has turned over a government-issued bulletproof van to Vice Mayor Donaldo Hontiveros on Friday outside a hotel here.
The move came a week after Rama missed the Cebu City Legal Office's deadline for the return of the Toyo-ta Hiace Super Grandia Elite, a city-owned vehicle he had initially refused to relinquish.
Rama attributed his decision to "divine guidance" and "discernment."
"I am a man of calculation, and I am not surrendering [the vehicle]... not returning it, but I am just turning it over," Rama said.
Hontiveros, Rama's running mate in the May 12 midterm elections, accepted the keys and later confirmed that his legal team would document the van's condition before submitting it to city authorities.
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The standoff over the P3-million van began on Oct. 18, 2024, when the City Administrator's Office first requested Rama to re-turn both the Super Grandia Elite and a Toyota Yaris Cross after the mayor was dismissed from office.
While his camp complied with the return of the Yaris Cross, Rama refused to give up the Super Grandia.
A final demand letter was issued on Feb. 19, setting a deadline of Feb. 21.
When Rama failed to comply, the city government escalated the matter by filing a police report on Feb. 26.
Rama, however, maintained that he remained the duly elected mayor and had not received an official dismissal order from the Office of the Ombudsman, which removed him from office on Sept. 9, 2024 over nepotism allegations.
On Feb. 21, he confronted City Legal Office head Santiago Ortiz Jr. at Cebu City Hall, questioning Ortiz's role in issuing the demand letter.
Ortiz responded that he was simply carrying out his duties.
Outside the office, Rama called the demand an "abuse of authority" and suggested the actions against him were oppressive.
Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia, who has insisted on the return of all city-issued vehicles assigned to Rama, said that the van remained government property and could not be used for private purposes.
Despite finally relinquishing the vehicle, Rama continues to dispute Garcia's legitimacy, calling him a "fake mayor."
He remains resolute in his bid to reclaim the mayoralty in the upcoming elections. He is running for mayor anew, this time against Garcia, former Bureau of Customs official Yogi Filemon Ruiz, City Counci-lor Nestor Archival and independent candidate Julito Co.
