Cabigon said they raised it to the one that served the order to them.

CEBU, Philippines —  It was returned later in the day, already with Rama’s signature on it.

Cabigon said they were surprised to see the mayor’s signature already, but as far as they know, the mayor already left for the US at that time.

“Sila’y nag-note ato (refuse to sign) sa akong part.  Wa gyud nako dawata. Morning man na gi-serve. Wa may pirma ni mayor. Pagbalik nilag 2 o’clock, naa nay pirma. Unya si mayor nilarga sayo sa Tuesday morning. Kahibulungan lang ba,” Cabigon said.

A side-by-side signature of what was claimed to be Rama’s was shown to The FREEMAN for comparison, which Cabigon’s camp believed is not the same one as that of the suspension order.

Cabigon said he is willing to face suspension, but in the right way.

“Ako modawat man kos akong suspension, pero kanang in a right way lang. Dili lang sad nga maniobrahon lang ta kay wa diri si mayor. Mao toy nakapait. Maong wa gyud  nako dawata,” added Cabigon.

City Administrator Collin Rosell, in a separate interview with The FREEMAN, said he could not also confirm if it was Rama who signed the document since he was not able to witness it, but, the former believes the signature belongs to Rama, he could not see any reason why the mayor won't sign it.

Rosell added the one that handed the suspension order must just be so excited and did not check if it was the one that was signed or one of the copies.

Cabigon, however, said they have a placed a certain marking on the paper to prove their point.

“Among gimarkahan, mao ra gyung papela pag balik. Ako, wa koy problema, modawat ko sa suspension kay wa man koy gikawat,” Cabigon added.

Rosell, however, said the mayor’s signature is just ministerial, as he was not the one that ordered for an investigation and decided on what to do with it, but the city council.

“Excited ra siguro ang nagpa-serve ato. Ang nadala ang walay pirma. Pero di sad ko kaingon na nakakita ko sa signature ni mayor. Pero, ikaduha bisan wako ka kita na gisignan na ni mayor, approve naman gud na sa Sanggunian and the mayor is just ministerial na lang ang iyang pag execute,” Rosell said.

But if the authenticity of the signature has been questioned, Rosell said they can wait for the mayor to confirm if it was his signature or not. /GAN