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CEBU CITY, Philippines – The suspension meted against Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama was a collateral damage, said former President Rodrigo ‘Digong’ Duterte.
Duterte on Saturday, May 25, penned an open letter addressed to supporters in Tacloban City where his camp planned to hold a ‘Maisug rally’ in the city’s Remedios Trinidad Romualdez Plaza.
Due to bad weather, the event did not proceed.
However, the former President believed there was deliberate intent to stop the activity from happening, leading him to accuse the administration of current President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. for suppressing dissent.
READ: Duterte slams ‘deliberate’ efforts to stop ‘Maisug’ rally in Tacloban
“As part of the Marcos administration’s policy of stifling peaceful dissent, they are doing everything to prevent this rally from happening,” Duterte wrote in the letter, published online by former Malacañan executive and lawyer, Vic Rodriguez.
He also pointed out to previous and similar examples, and added that some local officials faced consequences for allowing these rallies to proceed, including Rama.
Collateral Damage
“Innocent government workers were either relieved or suspended as collateral damage to these rallies including Davao del Norte Gov. Edwin Jubahib and Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama,” said Duterte.
READ: Cebu City Mayor Mike Rama suspended for 6 months
“The message is clear: unless you do your part in thwarting these rallies, you pay dearly for it,” he added.
It can be recalled that last February, Cebu City hosted a ‘prayer rally’ led by Duterte and his allies at the South Road Properties (SRP).
READ: Rama confirms: He will attend prayer rally in Cebu on Sunday
Only a few local officials in Cebu attended the event, which included mayor Rama.
Three months later, the Office of the Ombudsman ordered the city mayor to undergo a six-month preventive suspension over a case involving the city government’s failure to pay months of salaries to reassigned City Hall workers.
The case was filed in April.
Rama earlier raised the possibility that the suspension order made against him had been politically motivated.
Tacloban Rally
Duterte, in his letter, mentioned flight cancellations, travel restrictions, power interruptions and obstructions at the Remedios Trinidad Romualdez Plaza, where the prayer rally was supposed to be held.
The day before the planned Maisug rally, power outages occurred in parts of the city while pieces of heavy equipment were stationed at the plaza, accompanied by antiriot police.
An aide of Tacloban City Mayor Alfred Romualdez, a cousin of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the mayor was unaware of the Maisug prayer rally.
The mayor was focused on monitoring Severe Tropical Storm Aghon that was affecting the Eastern Visayas region, including this city, the aide said.
Mayor Romualdez had earlier defended his cousin against Duterte’s allegations that the latter was a drug user, saying that the President did not use cocaine or any illegal substance. / with reports from Inquirer-Visayas