Osmeña slams ‘vulgar’ P4.4M SUV deal; Garcia says purchase was canceled

Cebu City Vice Mayor Tomas Osmeña on Thursday, July 3, questioned a P4.4M luxury SUV purchase under the previous administration, calling it “vulgar” and overpriced. | Tomas Osmeña/ Facebook

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Vice Mayor Tomas Osmeña has accused the previous administration of “wasteful spending” for its attempted purchase of a P4.4-million luxury SUV, calling it “vulgar” and “overpriced.”

However, these claims were denied by former mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia, who said the transaction was canceled and never paid for.

In a Facebook post on Thursday, July 3, Osmeña questioned why the Cebu City Government under then-acting mayor Garcia would attempt to purchase a luxury BYD Tang SUV worth P4.4 million, well above its “regular retail price” of P3.3 million.

“Baga kaayo sila’g nawng nga mupalit ug BYD, the most expensive brand and overpriced pa with 1 million. Wala sila nauwaw. They are proud,” Osmeña told reporters.

(They really have the nerve to buy BYD, the most expensive and overpriced brand by a million. No shame at all. They are proud.)

READ: Tomas Osmeña feels betrayed by Archival, BOPK over zoning approval

He alleged that the city paid P1.1 million more than what an ordinary customer would for the same unit, describing the deal as “absolutely vulgar.”

“The City Government has no business buying such an expensive vehicle for personal service,” he added, citing other allegedly overpriced acquisitions under the previous administration. “There are dozens, if not hundreds, of vehicles that are similarly overpriced. There are thousands of other purchases that are equally anomalous. How do you justify a Toyota HiAce costing P3.6 million?”

Osmeña also claimed that these questionable procurements could be one reason for what Mayor Nestor Archival recently described as a “missing” P2-billion in city funds, with the final accounting still underway amid incomplete documentation.

But Garcia, in a phone interview on the same day, dismissed the allegations as misleading.

“Na-cancel naman toh nga transaction (That transaction was already canceled). In fact, the City Government has not paid a single centavo on it,” Garcia said.

He explained that while the proposed purchase was initially endorsed by his office, he later sought legal guidance before finalizing the transaction. When the City Legal Office issued an unfavorable opinion, Garcia said he immediately ordered the cancellation.

“Pagawas sa City Legal opinion, kay ako dayun gipa-cancel. Wala gyud nabayran ang City Government,” he said, adding that the unit was returned to the dealer before his term ended in June 2025.

(As soon as the City Legal opinion was released, I immediately had it canceled. The City Government never paid anything.)

Architect Florante Catalan, head of the Office of the Building Official (OBO), corroborated Garcia’s statement.

“The purchase did not push through,” Catalan said.

He also confirmed that the BYD Tang unit was returned after about a week in OBO’s custody for testing.

However, he declined to comment further, referring inquiries to the Bids and Awards Committee (BAC).

As of press time, the BAC has yet to release a statement.

Osmeña, who now serves as vice mayor and is openly critical of the previous administration, said the luxury vehicle is only one of many “anomalous” purchases being uncovered as the new administration continues to audit City Hall’s finances.

“There is much work to be done,” Osmeña said. /csl