Mabolo barangay chief: Australia trip a go, despite Tom’s no

MABOLO Barangay Captain Prisca Niña Mabatid will leave for a five-day trip to Australia by the end of the month despite Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña’s turning down her request for authority to travel abroad.

Mabatid said that she would push through with her trip after she got the go-signal from the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).

“(The) DILG said whether he (Mayor Osmeña) approves or not (the request for authority to travel abroad), I can go as long as I’m spending for my trip. It’s my right,” she said.

She said that it was protocol to seek approval to the mayor for her as a barangay official to travel abroad.

Osmeña posted on his Facebook page the letter of Mabatid that stated her request for an authority to travel to Australia by the end of August.

Osmeña disapproved the request with a scribbled note, “Denied. Can’t approve travel every month.”

“Despite your walkout, I approved your first trip after the ABC elections. Be Mabolo’s captain or be a travel escort; you cannot be both,” Osmeña stated in the post.

But Mabatid said that the mayor was only looking for reasons to allegedly taint her reputation since the Association of Barangay Councils (ABC) elections.

Mabatid, who was a former member of the Bando Osmeña Pundok Kauswagan (BO-PK), ran as an independent for ABC-Cebu City chairperson during last month’s ABC elections and lost to the BO-PK bet, Kasambagan Barangay Captain Franklyn Ong.

Yesterday, Mabatid claimed that Osmeña never asked for her explanation about the trip nor did he get her side about this.

Mabatid’s previous trip to the United Arab Emirates was for a pre-scheduled medical exam for the renewal of her investor’s visa.

The trip was originally for a week but was cut short to 3 days.

She said her five-day trip to Australia this time would be for a personal reason.

During yesterday’s interview, Mabatid also accused the mayor of harassing her and for being vindictive against her.

“I will never submit to a disrespectful mayor,” she told Cebu Daily News in a text message.

Mabatid also claimed that despite her recent trip abroad she had not been remiss with her duties as a barangay captain and that her constituents were satisfied with her services in Barangay Mabolo.

“He cannot claim that I am not doing a good job as a barangay captain. Only my constituents can do that,” Mabatid said.

CDN tried to get Osmeña’s side on Mabatid’s allegations but the mayor could not be reached for comment.