Tom blasts Raymond for ‘vulgar’ attempt to purchase P4.4-million SUV

Local

CEBU City Vice Mayor Tomas Osmeña slammed the attempted purchase of a luxury P4.4-million SUV by the previous administration as “vulgar” and “overpriced.”

In a Facebook post on Thursday, July 3, Osmeña lambasted the former city leadership under Raymond Alvin Garcia for trying to acquire a high-end BYD Tang SUV at an alleged bloated cost.

“Baga kaayo sila’g nawng nga mupalit ug BYD, the most expensive brand and overpriced pa with 1 billion. Wala sila nauwaw. They are proud,” Osmeña told reporters.

According to him, the vehicle, regularly priced at P3.3 million, was to be bought by the city for P4.4 million. He called the deal excessive and unnecessary.

“The City Government has no business buying such an expensive vehicle for personal service,” Osmeña said. “There are dozens, if not hundreds, of vehicles that are similarly overpriced. There are thousands of other purchases that are equally anomalous. How do you justify a Toyota HiAce costing ₱3.6 million?”

He further linked the attempted purchase to what Mayor Nestor Archival earlier described as a P2-billion shortfall in the city's funds, citing missing documents and ongoing financial reviews.

Garcia, however, denied the allegation.

“Na-cancel naman toh nga transaction. In fact, the City Government has not paid a single centavo on it,” he said in a phone interview, clarifying that the proposed acquisition did not push through.

Garcia said that while his office initially endorsed the plan, he sought the opinion of the City Legal Office. Once an unfavorable legal opinion came out, he immediately called off the deal.

“Pagawas sa City Legal opinion, kay ako dayun gipa-cancel. Wala gyud nabayran ang City Government,” he added.

He noted that the SUV was returned to the dealer before he stepped down in June 2025.

Since the SUV was intended for use by the Office of the Building Official (OBO), OBO head Florante Catalan confirmed Garcia’s account.

He stated that the unit was turned over to his office for about a week of testing before it was returned.

“The purchase did not push through,” Catalan said.

He declined to give further details and referred media queries to the Bids and Awards Committee (BAC).(TGP)