After the Council failed to override Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama’s veto, did we see the last of the proposed ordinance establishing a trust fund for the Cebu City Medical Center?
For now, maybe.
But it won’t stop proponents and supporters of the measure from recalibrating it to avoid the legal quandary being argued by Rama’s camp as a hindrance to creating such fund.
The mayor opposes the creation of the trust fund, seeing it as yet another way for the Bando Osmeña-Pundok Kauswagan (BO-PK) bloc to curtail his authority to reallocate funds meant for the hospital to whatever purpose, such as the seniors’ cash assistance released last December.
City Legal Officer Jerone Castillo supported the ordinance with some reservations, saying a local government unit (LGU) cannot mingle appropriations and donations in one trust fund.
Rama and the Council can argue all they want on the legal standing of the proposed CCMC trust fund but the bottomline remains the public’s trust and belief that any outlays and donations for the hospital project must be properly used.
Rama can say that he is allowed under the law to realign funds but his decision to do so has left not just the Council but the Cebu City residents wondering whether he is just as capable of diverting funds allocated for the CCMC to other uses he deems fit.
Even if we believe Rama’s declarations that he has never been involved in any corruption, the way he liberally moves funds left and right to cover a deficit or another project is being highlighted by political foes as proof of his lack of fiscal management skills.
Cebu City’s recent award by the Department of Interior and Local Governments (DILG) of a Seal of Good Financial Housekeeping last year is Mayor Rama’s most recent consolation.
The seal is one of several requirements for an LGU to secure a loan from the World Bank which is setting aside funds to help LGUs affected by the Oct. 15, 2013 earthquake and supertyphoon Yolanda, which Rama is considering for the CCMC.
But is the BO-PK bloc, which lacked only one vote to meet the two-thirds requirement to override the veto, willing to give Rama the benefit of the doubt?
Based on their tug-of-war over the South Road Properties (SRP), it would still be a definite no.
This, Cebu City residents find frustrating but it is still a valuable reference point in voting for the next batch of officials.