The Cebu City Council must pass the budget!

The 888 Forum yesterday at the Marco Polo Plaza had Mayor Michael Rama and 5th District Congressman Red Durano as guests. Of course, Mayor Mike Rama defended the P10 billion budget that he sent to the Cebu City Council, which has become controversial simply because Mayor Rama is no longer with the Bando-Osmeña Pundok Kauswagan (BO-PK). I know well enough that the devil is in the details. So it is up to the Cebu City Council to scrutinize the budget under the administration of Mayor Mike.

However, I must warn our City Councilors that they must look further beyond their respective political affiliations and consider the more important issue, which are the basic services for their Cebu City constituents. Regardless of their personal politics, the show must go on. Many of our streets need repairs, our hospital needs to pay the salaries and wages of our nurses and doctors and yes, CITOM needs to pay its personnel, so I hope that our City Councilors will forget politics when they screen the Rama budget.

A case in point is that at least, under Mayor Rama, the Cebu City Medical Center (CCMC) has an operational budget, unlike in the past, where the previous administration was even willing to sell this medical facility. If there is anything I especially like in this budget, it is the P200 million funds for the concreting of roads in Cebu City. Let’s face it, thanks to climate change; we expect stronger rains to drop on our beloved city ever so often. So if we continue asphalting our roads; that will be a waste of badly needed funds.

I have already seen what Mayor Mike has done when he instructed the Department of Engineering to concrete the road leading to SM along Queen City Garden or A. Soriano St. So the P200 million for concreting in this P10 Billion budget is a necessity. I don’t want to go into the other details, as that’s the job of the Cebu City Council. But they should make the right and speedy decisions, lest they suffer a backlash for stalling on this.

Mayor Mike Rama had to run, so the 888 Forum focused on Rep. Red Durano who confirmed to us that there are now two impeachment complaints filed against Pres. Benigno “PNoy” Aquino, III. So here we go again, having this political rigmarole that provides our citizenry with the real-to-life soap opera that distracts the focus of our people to improve our economy.

Rep. Red Durano also gave us a report about his brother, former Tourism Ace Durano, who is taking his Masters in Ateneo de Manila. This is what I like about Ace, he was already a Congressman and a Cabinet Secretary, yet he continues to pursue higher education. I hope someday to see Ace bounce back into government service… after all, as Bobby Joseph told the group, he was the best Tourism Chairman bar none!

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The murder of Ram Revilla last Oct. 28 is more than a week old and it seems that the controversy has not receded. Maria Ramona Bautista, one of the suspects in this crime has since left the country last Nov. 4 and is now back in Turkey, which has further widened this controversy as to why Immigration authorities did not stop her from boarding the plane out of the country. MIAA officials say that they could not stop her because she has no warrant of arrest or a court order to stop her from leaving the country.

Meanwhile, the whole nation now knows that the sibling rivalry among the family members of Ram Revilla stems from the alleged P1 million from their father, former Sen. Ramon Revilla, Sr. Funny that while everyone knows what the family squabble is all about, no one from the Aquino administration, not even the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) is going on an investigation to find out whether this is true or not?

These days the BIR is so busy accusing many professionals, like lawyers or doctors of possible tax evasion. But here is a very celebrated case hogging the national headlines where eyebrows got raised when the bone of contention was a million pesos monthly allowance to Revilla’s children, which has now resulted in a sibling rivalry ending with murder.

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Miss Philippines Gwendoline Ruais was 1st Runner up in the Miss World contest held in London a few days ago. It was a fight between her and Miss Venezuela’s Ivaian Sarcos who won the coveted 2011 Miss World Crown. This victory comes at the heels of the near win by the reigning Bb. Pilipinas-Universe Ms Shamcey Supsup who bagged 3rd Runner up during the 60th Miss Universe Pageant last September. Of course, Miss Philippines Gwendoline Ruais fared much better than Shamcey, who actually won as most popular contestant. As far as beauty and brains are concerned, I’d vote for Ms. Shamcey Supsup as she is much prettier and more talented than Ruais.

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