A member of the Cebu City Council recently questioned a procurement of a service vehicle for its local chief executive Mayor Michael Rama even as the council has passed the resolution for the service vehicle procurement for the city mayor.

South District City Councilor James Anthony Cuenco called the procurement "extravagant" as he stressed that the local government of Cebu City is expected to spend P10 million on the bullet-proof and bomb-proof service utility request of Rama.

He insisted that only high-ranking officials such as the President, Vice President, Senate President, Speaker of the House and the Supreme Court Chief Justice are permitted to acquire high-end vehicles with protective accessories.

Cuenco also cited former Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno's case, who was charged with corruption and was eventually ousted for allegedly spending a total of P18 million in public funds, which included the purchase of a brand-new Toyota Land Cruiser.

Meantime, City Administrator Collin Rosell said the acquisition of the vehicle is for the city to have an appropriate service vehicle when the mayor visits mountain barangays and to ensure the security of the mayor, whether there are reported death threats or not.

Former Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña, on the other hand, said "Rama is not worth P10 million."

Osmeña's legal counsel Atty. Amando Virgil Ligutan said that the city's plan to procure such a vehicle is a bit extravagant as he stressed that there should be justification on the procurement.

Rosell — in a letter dated 15 November 2023 addressed to City Councilor Noel Wenceslao who is also the budget and finance committee chairman — requested the passage of a resolution for the procurement of one service vehicle for the local chief executive valued at 10,032,931, which will be drawn from 2023 Motor Vehicle Outlay funds.

Wenceslao disclosed that a mayor of a highly urbanized city is permitted to procure a vehicle specifically intended for security reasons, adding that Rama had been without an appropriate vehicle for a long time and is using either his personal or borrowed land cruiser.

Meanwhile, Rama explained that the procurement of the P10-million bullet-proofed, bomb-proofed Land Cruiser is not just for him but also for the future local chief executives of the city.

"And I should know this because I am the president of the League of Cities of the Philippines, been a president of the Vice Mayor's League of the Philippines, and we have discussed this, regarding the safety of mayors in the entire country," Rama said.

He added the purchase of a bulletproof car has always been a desire of the country's mayors in their discussions because of past ambush incidents against colleagues.