NO REASON TO SMILE. Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes (left) avoids looking at Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama as they shake hands before the start of the Mega Cebu Development and Coordinating Board meeting at the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. building. (CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA)
Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama and Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes met at a forum with Metro Cebu mayors yesterday morning, their first time after they verbally tangled on the demolition of footbridges at the Mahiga Creek and the issue on Cebu City’s slaughterhouse operations.
Rama was visibly cheerful in trying to greet Cortes, who just shook his hand without saying anything. “Nagkita bitaw mi. Migo man mi. Ang mayor pa, nga motagad gani kog way taw (Yes we saw each other. We’re friends. As mayor, I even give greeting when there are no people around),” Rama joked.
Cortes told the media that Rama broke their agreement never to issue any statement to the media about their plan to clear the Mahiga Creek.
“Before ‘tong issue, nihangyo man gud ko ana niya nga wala sa’y statement ba kay ongoing among demolition nya kay magsige man ug hatag ug statement (I requested him not to issue statements while the demolition is ongoing but he keeps on issuing statements),” Cortes said.
The agreement was made after the panel discussion by both cities last October 2 led by Vice Mayor Edgar Labella. Cortes said that he is willing to sit down with the Cebu City vice mayor.
“I will reach out again to Labella who is open minded. We already started discussions with (Joey) Daluz and (Councilor Gerry) Carillo,” he said.
Labella also said he is ready to talk with Cortes.
“We have to end this. Nindot kaayo ang among nasugdan (What we started was good,” he added.
But Rama said there’s still no need for him to send Labella to talk to Cortes.
“Dili kinahanglan. Lahi ang trabaho ni vice, lahi sad ang trabaho ni Mike Rama. (There’s no need. The vice mayor has a different job, I also have my own).”
Rama confirmed that he received the letter of the Mandaue City Legal Office enumerating various “violations” of the Cebu City slaughterhouse located in barangay Subangdaku, Mandaue City.
Rama referred the matter to the Cebu City Legal Office.
Aside from the several violations cited, the slaughterhouse does not conform with the land use classification in the area so Cebu City should start looking for another lot to build the new slaughterhouse.
The Cebu City slaughterhouse has been operating for over 14 years, and Cebu City asked why Mandaue City is demanding taxes only now.
On this, Cortes explained that their treasurer, lawyer Regal Oliva, just saw it as a potential revenue for Mandaue. Also, he created a task force to do the demolition at Mahiga creek. The task force has started inspecting upstream, and will operate against all including establishments and not just houses.
It was the task force that paved the way for the discovery of the “violations and lapses.”
City Attorney Jerone Castillo will call for a meeting with the head of the slaughterhouse, the City Health Department, City Treasurer’s Office and the Cebu City Environment and Natural Resources Office.
“These are serious allegations. We want to elicit some facts on the actual operation of the slaughterhouse,” Castillo said.
“If we have a liability, then we have to comply. If there is no basis, then there’s no reason to comply,” he added.
Cortes said that with Cebu City’s resistance, the issue may reach the court.
“Ang ako lang unsa’y husto dili kay unsa’y gusto sa usa (I am only after what is right, not what one man wants),” he explained.