All road projects done before Sinulog—Rama
Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama set a January 9 deadline for road improvement projects in the city or nine days before the annual Sinulog celebration.
“This is very important. By January 9, all roads in Cebu City should be unhampered and passable,” he told City Engineer Jose Marie Poblete yesterday.
The order covers major road concreting projects along V. Rama Avenue, S. Osmena Road and main roads in the North Reclamation Area (NRA).
Rama, Poblete and some city officials visited the construction of a new mall by Robinsons in the NRA yesterday afternoon.
Part of the project includes the concreting of the roads around the mall.
No cost
Poblete said the road concreting, which cost about P25 million, is being implemented by Robinsons at no cost to the city.
Jaypee Allego, construction manager of Robinsons, said they are nearly 50 percent done with the road concreting which started in November 14.
“This includes more than 400 meters of road. As we promised to the mayor before, we will complete the road concreting before the Sinulog,” he told reporters.
Rama said private sector-led projects are part of his administration’s thrust for the development of the city.
He said these projects don’t have to go through the Cebu City Council’s approval.
Declaratory relief
Rama lamented how the City Council clipped his office’s implementation of projects in the P13.4 billion annual budget for next year through provisions that restrict the sourcing of funds.
He said he would file cases against the Bando Osmeña-Pundok Kauswagan (BO-PK) bloc in the City Council for usurpation of authority.
Vice Mayor Edgardo Labella suggested instead to file a petition for declaratory relief in court.
“There is a remedy if the question is about existing provisions of law. If you file for declaratory relief, the court will determine which interpretation is the right one because here, there are conflicting interpretations,” he said.
He said this way, implementation of the budget ordinance won’t be hampered by filing of cases as long as there is no injunction of restraining order from the court.
Sought for comment, the mayor said he would consider Labella’s suggestion and meet with Team Rama allies in the council to discuss his next move.
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