Mike, Pia and Jejomar

Think Bits
Allow me to greet everyone a belated Joyous Christmas. I hope you enjoyed your Christmas with family and loved ones. We had our usual family reunion at the Rama compound where my cousins and other relatives gathered and enjoyed each other’s company. I was surprised to see so many of them, some of whom I didn’t recognize since they belong to the younger generation. It was also a time to renew ties and catch up on each other’s busy lives.
We had the chance to discuss the 60-day preventive suspension of our cousin, Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama. All of my cousins took it lightly and saw it as an opportunity for Mike to go around and mingle with his constituents.
Now that we’re done celebrating Christmas, we’re looking forward to the New Year, making plans and composing a new year’s resolution.
On Christmas eve, I ushered in Christmas Day by praying the Holy Rosary and will do the same to welcome the new year. I will pray for God’s blessings as well as thank Him for all that He has given us yesterday today and tomorrow.
Happy New Year!
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Last Monday as I was watching the movie Star Wars, my younger brother Jun called me to ask if I was watching the Miss Universe pageant.
Jun surprised me with the news about a weird twist in the pageant. Miss Colombia was declared Miss Universe 2015 by host Steve Harvey, who soon after corrected himself. It was Miss Philippines Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach who actually won the crown.
I couldn’t believe it. That was so embarrassing for Miss Colombia. Some people in Colombia thought that she had been cheated by the organizers. But Steve Harvey was such a gentleman. He corrected himself and apologized for the mistake. He showed the cue card that clearly announced that Miss Colombia was first runner-up and that Miss Philippines won the title.
I appreciate Harvey’s gesture which was very courageous. I salute Miss Philippines for perfectly handling the confusion. She really deserves the title. It was indeed a proud moment for Filipinos though the incident made everything thrilling and suspenseful.
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The latest Pulse Asia survey revealed that Vice President Jejomar Binay is no. 1 with about 30 percent followed by Senator Grace Poe with about 23 percent followed by Mayor Duterte then Mar Roxas.
While Duterte and Roxas were slugging it out in high-profile media controversies, Binay quietly went on with his usual campaign, touching base with ordinary people.
But it’s too early to say that the people have decided on their president.

Feedback
Clarifying the status
of police vehicles
Cebu City Councilor Margot Osmeña replies:

Allow me to respond to Mr. Ricky Poca’s column last Dec. 21, 2015 regarding police motor vehicles.
First of all, the City Council appropriated P108-million worth of motor vehicles for the police in this year’s annual budget. The budget was available for implementation in the first month of the year which is January but it was only on Nov. 2, 2015 that the Cebu City Development Council (CCDC) approved its Resolution No. 03-1103 amending the City’s Annual Investment Plan to include the list of vehicles requested by the police charged to the lump sum appropriation of P108 million.
The resolution was referred to the City Council for its approval on Nov. 20, 2015. By this time, the series of budget hearings was already in full force so that we could beat the deadline at the end of the fiscal year.
Since the matter involves appropriation, the CCDC Resolution was referred to my Committee on Budget and Finance.
For purposes of propriety, the Committee waited for the budget hearing on Peace and Order before rendering its report to verify from the police themselves if indeed these are the vehicles they requested to be charged under the P108-million vehicle outlay.
After confirming the list, the Committee rendered its report on Dec. 2, 2015 and recommend that the resolution be endorsed to the Committee on Peace and Order.
My question is, if these vehicles are indeed urgent as stated by Mr. Poca, why then did the concerned people wait for 11 months before deciding what vehicles to buy? Why wait for November before amending the AIP? Why now all of a sudden is it the Council’s fault for not acting on it immediately?
If indeed these vehicles are urgent, the concerned parties could have beaten the deadline for the submission of all Purchase Requests for bidding which was last October 15.
Please take note that when this CCDC Resolution was endorsed to the Committee on Budget, the committee was already focusing on a more urgent matter which is the deliberation of the 2016 annual budget.
Come on, Mr. Poca, I know you mean well, but please consider all the facts before you draw your own conclusion.