Rama yet to sign return slip after turning over city-owned vehicle

Local

WHILE the Cebu City Government now possesses the contested bulletproof van, dismissed Mayor Michael Rama has yet to sign a return slip to formally complete the turnover after surrendering the vehicle to Vice Mayor Donaldo "Dondon" Hontiveros.

“We already have it, it is already in our possession. It is with the Department of General Services (DGS), kaso lang... it is still under the name of former Mayor Michael Rama,” Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia confirmed in his weekly press conference at City Hall on Monday, March 3.

Garcia said Rama must sign a return of property slip to finalize the process.

"Ang sa gobyerno, dili man gud na nga inig uli nimo mopirma dayon ka og acknowledgement receipt na imohang nang nadawat," he said.

He clarified that responsibility falls on the person surrendering the government-owned asset, not the recipient.

Comparing it to claiming a lost-and-found item, he said that until Rama signs the slip, the van remains legally under his possession, preventing the city from using it.

Garcia has instructed the DGS to obtain Rama’s signature.

The mayor has yet to decide how the van will be utilized but said it will remain under the Office of the Mayor. He suggested it could be used for official visits by foreign ambassadors.

Weeks of resistance

After weeks of defiance, Rama finally turned over the government-issued van to Hontiveros on February 28 outside a hotel in Cebu City, nearly a week after missing the Cebu City Legal Office’s deadline to return the vehicle.

"I am a man of calculation, and I am not surrendering [the vehicle]... not returning it, but I am just turning it over," Rama said, citing "divine guidance" and "discernment" for his decision.

Hontiveros accepted the keys and confirmed that his legal team would document the van’s condition before submitting it to city authorities.

The standoff began on October 18, 2024, when the City Administrator’s Office requested Rama to return both the Super Grandia Elite and a Toyota Yaris Cross.

While his camp complied with the return of the Yaris Cross, he refused to give up the Super Grandia.

On February 19, 2025, the city issued a final demand letter, setting a February 21 deadline.

When Rama failed to comply, the city government escalated the matter by filing a police report on February 26.

Rama insisted that he remains the duly elected mayor, arguing that he had not received an official dismissal order from the Office of the Ombudsman, which removed him from office on September 9, 2024, over nepotism allegations.

On February 21, he confronted City Legal Office head Santiago Ortiz Jr. at Cebu City Hall, questioning his role in issuing the demand letter. Ortiz responded that he was simply carrying out his duties.

Outside the office, Rama called the demand an "abuse of authority" and accused city officials of oppression.

Despite turning over the van, he continues to dispute Garcia’s legitimacy, calling him a "fake mayor."

He remains firm in his bid to reclaim the mayoralty in the upcoming elections, where he will face Garcia, former Bureau of Customs official Yogi Filemon Ruiz, City Councilor Nestor Archival, and independent candidate Julito Co.(MyTVCebu)