Rama to focus on waste, traffic, payment of SRP loan for remainder of term

CEBU City Mayor Michael “Mike” Rama is now focusing the remaining days of his term as mayor on convening a squander management summit in the metropolis and fully having to pay the loan for the South Highway Qualities (SRP).

The summit will pave the way for the citizens to grow to be far more conscious about squander segregation and the appropriate throwing of garbage at specified schedules, Rama said during a digital push convention on Monday, April 4, 2022..

To consider spot on April 6 to 8, the summit will be attended by reps of countrywide federal government organizations, non-authorities companies, stable squander administration solution businesses, and solid squander turbines like lodges and places to eat.

The conveners have already carried out preliminary concentrate team conversations that yielded useful outputs that will be noted and consolidated in the course of the summit, explained Rama.

“For this, we welcome all suggestions from our citizens in all sectors, and incorporate these into what will turn into a extensive Squander Administration Program,” Rama added.

Traffic summit

Office environment of the Mayor staff member and summit convener Reymarr Hijara said the Metropolis has also started out preliminary talks currently about the proposed Website traffic Administration Summit of Rama.

Rama said Hijara will coordinate with Councilor James Cuenco, who chairs the council’s committee on transportation for the implementation of this summit.

Rama extra that the summit will require associates from the transportation sector and government agencies these as the Land Transportation Place of work and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board.

SRP financial loan

The mayor also mentioned that he has by now supplied marching orders to the staff in cost of expediting the completion of payment for the SRP bank loan.

Very last March 3, the Metropolis Council accepted a P1.61 billion supplemental spending budget that provided the cash essential to pay back off the remaining P1.1 billion stability of the financial loan.

Rama mentioned if he had won the election in 2016, the loan could have by now been thoroughly paid out.

“That matter would have currently rested and that will currently belong to the record and the annals so to talk,” said Rama.

When he was mayor in 2015, Rama required to fork out off the bank loan to conserve on hundreds of thousands of pesos in curiosity payments.

But the Bando Osmeña Pundok Kauswagan (BOPK)-dominated City Council objected to the shift over the proposal to use the P8.35 billion down payment made by three builders that purchased 45.2 hectares of land in the SRP for the personal loan payment.

Tomas Osmeña won in the 2016 election.

The Town had taken out a 12.315 billion yen financial loan from the Japan Worldwide Cooperation Company (Jica) in 1995 to create the 300-hectare SRP. At that time, its peso equivalent was P4.65 billion. It is payable in 30 many years or until eventually 2025.

As of February 2018, the Metropolis experienced presently paid around P6 billion, P3.7 billion of which was for the principal and P2.8 billion for the fascination, amongst others.

In addition to the international loan’s valuation becoming vulnerable to foreign trade fluctuations, the City have to fork out Land Lender of the Philippines, the conduit financial institution of Jica, a one particular p.c assurance payment of the City’s excellent mortgage stability for the yr for remittance to the Office of Finance, the guarantor of the personal loan.

Rama was elected vice mayor in 2019 but turned mayor on the demise of mayor Edgardo Labella very last November.

In the six-way race for mayor in the May 9 elections, between these challenging Rama for the submit are Osmeña’s wife, former councilor Margarita “Margot” Osmeña, and Town Councilor David Tumulak. (IRT, CTL)