Mayor Rama losing patience on Cebu Updates page

CEBU, Philippines — Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama is determined to go after the administrator behind the page, Cebu Updates, saying he “had enough.”

Despite refusing to comment further on the case, Rama expressed his firmness to go after the Cebu Updates Facebook page.

The page is identified to be vocal against the administration of Rama and is now being charged with Illegal Access or violation of Section 4 (a) paragraph 1 and Computer-related Identity Theft under Section 4 (b) paragraph 3, all of Republic Act 10175, also known as the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012.

The complaint was filed by Estela Grace Rosit, in her official capacity as the officer-in-charge (OIC) of the Public Information Office (PIO) of the Cebu City government.

While the respondents were identified as certain Christian Tura and Erwin Dela Cerna who, according to Rosit’s affidavit, “accessed the whole or a part of a computer system related to the original and official Facebook page of Cebu City Public Information Office.”

The charges were filed last February 5, 2024.

In a press conference Tuesday, Rama said, “Enough is enough…I do not want to be warning, but I have enough of my patience actually.”

“They cannot be just destroying, they cannot just be,” he added.

Rama added that the administrator behind the page should be facing the appropriate charges saying that they could never “hide.”

“Sila ra diay kahibaw?” the mayor said.

According to Rama, he doesn't want to put the Cebu City Hall, its employees, department heads, and even his family to be an “easy victim” of an “unfair intrusion of individual privacy.”

He said they will not stop to uncover all the people administering the page, adding that they will build a case and tackle it one at a time.

On Rosit’s affidavit filed before the Office of the City Prosecutor, it was on May 2, 2012, during the term of Rama from 2010-2016, that the official Facebook page was created and was named "Cebu City Public Information Office" under the instruction of then officer-in-charge (OIC) of the then PIO, Florito G. Dugaduga

Upon his assumption of office, Caesar Wenefrido T. Eviota requested for the turnover of the access, administration, and management of the official Facebook page of Cebu City PIO, then named "Cebu City Public Information Office.

“The PIO of the preceding administration, Ms. Razel Cuizon refused to turn-over the administration and management of such a page to Mr. Eviota as the OIC of the PIO of the new Rama administration,” the affidavit further reads.

As it further reads, it says that On December 27, 2021. Eviota, then OIC of PIO, used the Facebook page named "Cebu City - Barugg Sugbo TV" and renamed it to "Cebu City • News & Information" with the intention of making it the official Facebook page of Cebu City after he was allegedly denied access to the original and official Facebook page of Cebu City.

“Hence, we were shocked that on January 5, 2022, the original and official Facebook page of Cebu City Public Information Office, which is a property of the Cebu City Government, was already renamed to "Cebu Updates,"” the affidavit then reads. — (FREEMAN)