Tom: City paid P1.1M more for SUV

Bold allegations from Cebu City Vice Mayor Tomas Osmeña elicited a strong denial from former mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia over the alleged “purchase” of a luxury electric vehicle which, Osmeña claimed, contributed to the delay in turning over documents to Mayor Nestor Archival’s administration.

- Iris Hazel Mascardo/ BRP

Upon assuming as vice mayor, Osmeña exposed the Garcia administration’s alleged purchase of a P3.3-million luxury SUV for P4.4 million. In a social media post, Osmeña argued that this transaction was the reason behind Garcia’s delay in handing over documents to the transition team of Archival.

“The City Government has no business buying such an expensive vehicle for personal service. Not only is the BYD Tang the highest-priced vehicle the company offers in the Philippines, the fact that City Hall paid P1.1M over what an ordinary customer would pay is absolutely vulgar,” the post read.

He further claimed that there were “dozens of vehicles” that were similarly overpriced, along with thousands of other allegedly anomalous purchases.

“The accounting of Cebu City’s funds is a mess. As Mayor Nestor has mentioned, we are at a deficit of P2 billion and counting. The final numbers are yet to be determined because so many documents are missing,” he added.