CEBU CITY – Vice Mayor Raymond Garcia on Monday, May 13, formally took over as acting mayor of this city following the six-month suspension of Mayor Michael Rama.
VICE Mayor Raymond Garcia (right) meets department heads after officially becoming acting mayor of Cebu City on Monday, May 13, following the suspension of Mayor Michael Rama. (Cebu City PIO)
Garcia marked his first day as the city’s acting mayor by leading the City Hall’s traditional Monday flag ceremony.
In his speech, Garcia called on all city workers to unite to ensure that the delivery of services will remain unhampered.
“United we stand, divided we fall. And so, I am therefore calling upon everyone, the department heads, assistant department heads, the section heads, heads of offices, all employees of the City Hall to join hands and work together for a smooth transition so that things can quickly get back to normal,” said Garcia.
Rama and seven other City Hall officials were suspended by the Office of the Ombudsman recently.
The suspension stemmed from a case that was filed by four city government workers from the City Assessor’s Office, who complained that they were not paid their salaries for several months.
The complainants were Sybil Ann Ybañez, Fiolemna Atuel, Maria Almicar Diongzon, and Chito dela Cerna.
After the flag ceremony, Garcia met Ybañez and assured her that their unpaid salaries will be released soon.
Garcia also assured that the alleged harassment against the four employees will be looked into.
Ybañez had complained that she was confronted by another City Hall worker for dragging the suspended mayor into the issue.