LP, BOPK won’t transport supporters to rally

CEBU, Philippines - Unlike the UNA proclamation rally earlier this week, the Liberal Party (LP) national and local gathering slated this Monday will most likely not use city-owned buses.

“The venue is at the Cebu Coliseum. Let the people go there on their own,” Cebu City South District Congressman and mayoralty candidate Tomas Osmeña told reporters.

Reelectionist Cebu City Mayor Mike Rama does not want to preempt the Liberal Party by offering the city-owned vehicles.

“Let’s cross the bridge when we get there. Mura man ta’g nagpahuwam pero di diay sila mu-ulos. Mura man ta’g are we offering?,” Rama told reporters.

 As the Commission on Elections (Comelec) investigates the use of city-owned buses at the United Nationalists Alliance (UNA) proclamation rally in Cebu, reports came out that the party paid the city government ten thousand pesos.

The amount was supposedly paid for the use of vehicles that transported supporters to and from Plaza Independencia.

Vehicle dispatching of the city government earlier confirmed assigning 19 city-owned Kaohsiung and Yokohama buses at the UNA campaign kickoff.

Cebu City Mayor Mike Rama refused to confirm the amount but reiterated that these vehicles are part of the basic services of the city where any individual or group may even avail of for free.

“Maybe we have forgotten we are even giving it for free. When we are talking about Kaohsiung it is usually given for free. Burial, wedding, and the usual problem when it’s Saturday and Sunday is the driver. But most of the time being part of our basic services. Our way of serving the people of Cebu. So I don’t think we should be more quantifiable in terms of how much,” Rama told reporters.

Cebu City South District Congressman Tomas Osmeña thinks the amount is not parallel with the number of the buses used.(FREEMAN)