Politics is heating up in Cebu with elections less than a year away. In today’s news, former mayor Tomas Osmeña accused Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama of wasting government funds while Talisay City Mayor Johnny de los Reyes claimed 1st District Rep. Gerald Anthony Gullas asked students of the University of Visayas, which his family owns, to register in Talisay City. He described it as “hakot” or busing potential voters.

Here are the top stories in Cebu today, July 6, 2015

Mayor Rama wasting government funds, says Tomas

Former Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña took to his Facebook page yesterday to criticize erstwhile ally and political rival Mayor Michael Rama as having wasted government funds and causing the city to lose potential revenues by selling outright SRP lots.

SRP Tomas Osmeña, Michael Rama
SOUTH ROAD PROPERTIES. An aerial shot of the SRP that former mayor Tomas Osmeña posted along with his criticism of how Mayor Michael Rama has handled the project and the city’s finances. (Photo taken from Osmeña’s Facebook page)
Osmeña, who conceptualized the SRP project, said that when he stepped down, he left behind P2.4 billion in City Hall.

“Apan unsa may gihimo ni Rama? Wa magdugay, gihurot niya ang pundo nga akong gibilin. Diin man padung ang kwarta? Bisan giunsa pagpugong sa mga konsehal aron dili mausik ang pundo, gigasto niya ang dakung bahin niini sa daghang mga dili-importanteng butang.” — former Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña in his Facebook post. (What did Rama do? He spent everything. Where did the money go? No matter how much the councilors tried to stop him from wasting funds, Rama spend a huge part of the money on unimportant things.)

“Sa pagbaligya sa SRP, parehas ra’g giputol-putol ni Rama ang punoan sa mangga nga atong gitanom. Karon hinoong tuiga ug sa mosunod nga 2 ka tuig, duna pa siya’y mapaabot nga halin sa SRP. Apan mag-unsa naman pod siya inig kahurot ini? Mamaligya nasab og yuta sa SRP hangtod wa nay mahabilin ini alang sa atong kaugmaon?” — Tomas Osmeña (In selling the SRP lots, Rama is liking cutting off the mango trees we planted. This year and in the next 2 years, he still has revenues coming from the sale of the SRP lots. But what can we do when these are spent? Do we sell more SRP lots until none are left?

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Talisay mayor accuses congressman Gullas of influencing UV students to sign up as Talisay voters

Talisay City Mayor Johnny de los Reyes has accused 1st District Rep. Gerald Anthony Gullas of influencing students of the University of the Visayas, which is owned by the Gullas family, to sign up as Talisay voters.

De los Reyes, told Sun.Star Cebu, that they were surprised by the groups of students signing up at the City Election Office. He said that many of the students could not identify their barangays. He described this as “hakot” or busing in voters.

Gullas denied the allegation, which he described as offensive, and said the students merely sought his office’s help. Gullas manages UV’s basketball team and serves as assistant vice president for finance and administration.

“We have legal procedures to follow if he feels he has been offended by some UV students who would want to exercise their right of suffrage. To me, to forestall, at the least, or deny these students their political rights is offensive, if not irrational.” — Rep. Gerald Anthony Gullas as quoted, by Sun.Star Cebu.

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Weekend road accidents kill 4 persons, injure 5 in Cebu

Four people were killed in separate road accidents over the weekend in Toledo City and Argao and Dumanjug towns. A merchandise delivery truck fell into a river in Poog, Toledo City at past 11 a.m. Sunday, killing driver Oscar Layson and assistant Reymart Cañeza. The traffic investigator said the van’s brakes might have malfunctioned when Layson was traversing a curve.

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Tragic homecoming in Pilar as survivors, dead arrive

Survivors of the Kim Nirvana-B sinking returned yesterday to Pilar, Camotes, their intended destination when the boat sank in bad weather on July 2. Coffins containing 45 bodies in white caskets were brought to the town by the BRP Batangas of the Philippine Coast Guard.

Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Officer Baltazar Tribunalo Jr. told Sun.Star Cebu that 36 of the caskets remained in Pilar while 7 were taken to Tudela and one each to Poro and San Francisco.

Nirvana sinking
TRAGIC HOMECOMING. Workers bring to port one of the 45 caskets containing bodies of those who perished in the sinking last July 2. (Photo by Ryan Sorote of AksyonBisaya TV5)
The death toll in the accident is now at 61, with the retrieval Saturday night of 2 more bodies.

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Other Cebu headlines:

» 3 Korean divers missing

Three Koreans were reported missing yesterday while diving in Mactan Island. The divers were identified as instructor Baek Seung Kyoon, 34, Heo Seung Yung, 45, and Kim Eun, 31. Rescuers had to stop operations at 6 p.m. because of the bad weather, Cebu Daily News reported.
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» Sun.Star Cebu: Kidnapped 3-year-old found in Kamagayan

» Strong waves in Talisay destroy houses; residents flee

Read stories in Sun.Star Cebu, The Freeman, and Cebu Daily News.

» Sun.Star Cebu: Mayor Rama promises to resolve 93-1 lots issue before his term ends next year

Cebu Business Headlines

Sun.Star Cebu: With smallest insurance market in Asean5, Philippines ‘has room to grow’ for insurance

The Freeman: Brokerage warns real estate buyers against spurious developers

Sun.Star Cebu: Asean access opens huge market for gifts, decor and houseware sector

Max Limpag is a journalist, blogger, and developer based in Cebu. He started as a reporter covering Cebu City Hall in 1996. He has written on technology for various print and digital publications since...

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