Return city-issued radios utilized in marketing campaign, Garcia tells Rama

Raymond Alvin Garcia | CDN Picture/ Pia Piquero

CEBU CITY, Philippines — After being pressed to return a government-issued car, people linked to dismissed Cebu Metropolis Mayor Michael Rama ordered to give up one other set of public belongings.

This time, handheld radios have been allegedly used for political functions in the course of the marketing campaign season.

Cebu Metropolis Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia confirmed on April 21 that the town authorities had issued memoranda to a number of former staff and people related to the earlier Rama administration, demanding the fast return of government-owned Motorola digital radios.

READ: Cebu Metropolis to sue Michael Rama over unreturned authorities car

The radios, initially assigned for catastrophe response and public security operations, have been reportedly nonetheless within the possession of former employees, bodyguards, and associates of Rama, even after their separation from Metropolis Corridor.

Garcia mentioned these recognized got 72 hours to return the communication tools. Failure to conform, he warned, would lead the town to raise the matter to the Metropolis Authorized Workplace for attainable authorized motion.

“We now have already issued memoranda to the people who have been accountable for the tools. These radios have been principally used in the course of the earlier administration, significantly by bodyguards and employees related to the Workplace of the Mayor,” Garcia mentioned in a press convention.

“As soon as they return the radios, we are going to acknowledge the turnover by means of an official receipt,” he added.

READ: Rama: Keen to return van, however insists he’s the ‘rightful mayor’

The difficulty gained urgency after the Metropolis Catastrophe Threat Discount and Administration Workplace (CDRRMO) intercepted radio communications in early April that strongly advised the radios have been getting used for campaign-related actions, which is a transparent violation of presidency property insurance policies.

Garcia mentioned the town’s catastrophe workplace flagged the communication exchanges, which included discussions of political gatherings and attendance monitoring.

“It was very apparent to the catastrophe workplace that these have been getting used for marketing campaign functions,” Garcia mentioned.

The town authorities recognized a minimum of 18 people who have been nonetheless holding the units, which embrace each former staff and political allies of Rama.

The radios, every costing round P25,000, have been a part of an initiative underneath the late mayor Edgardo Labella’s administration to modernize Cebu Metropolis’s catastrophe and emergency response techniques.

READ: CSC warns gov’t staff: Don’t like, share political posts of bets

Metropolis Administrator Kristine Pleasure Batucan additionally confirmed in a memorandum that Good day Advertising Inc., the radios’ provider, was ordered to deactivate the units to forestall additional unauthorized use.

“This communication channel is reportedly being utilized for campaign-related functions, which is strictly prohibited,” Batucan wrote.

A number of the recognized radio handlers have been mentioned to have hyperlinks to Rama’s safety crew, together with his brother-in-law Elmer Mandanat.

Metropolis officers mentioned all accountable personnel had signed asset receipts for the radios earlier than they left Metropolis Corridor, making it simpler to hint the tools and difficulty the return orders.

Rama, for his half, denied data of the matter. When reached by CDN Digital on Monday, he replied briefly: “Sorry. No concept about it.”

This newest controversy comes on the heels of one other unresolved property dispute between Rama and the Cebu Metropolis Authorities.

Simply weeks in the past, Metropolis Corridor issued a remaining demand letter ordering Rama to return a government-owned Toyota Hiace Tremendous Grandia van, which remained in his possession months after his dismissal from workplace.

Rama was faraway from his put up on October 3, 2024, after the Workplace of the Ombudsman discovered him responsible of nepotism and grave misconduct.

The ruling additionally barred him from holding public workplace, although Rama continues to problem the choice earlier than the Supreme Court docket.

Rama is looking for reelection as Cebu Metropolis mayor within the upcoming Could 12 elections, working in opposition to Garcia, Metropolis Councilor Nestor Archival, former Customs Commissioner Lorenzo “Yogi” Ruiz, and impartial candidate Julieto Co.

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