Rama slams CPA for deploying guards at disputed Compania Maritima

View of the Compania Maritima from the 9th floor of the City Hall Executive Building in December 2022. | CDN Digital File Photo (Wenilyn Sabalo)

CEBU CITY, Philippines — The move of the Cebu Port Authority (CPA) to post enlarged copies of the Writ of Preliminary Injunction and deploy security personnel around the legally disputed Compania Maritima did not sit well with Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama.

“Butang-butang sila’g gwardiya diha, what are they trying to prove to us? They know. I have already instructed my lawyers. If they want to declare war, then I’ll declare war against them,” Rama said in an interview on Thursday, January 19, 2023.

(They put guards there, what are they trying to prove to us? They know. I have already instructed my lawyers. If they want to declare war, then I’ll they want to declare war, then I’ll declare war against them.)

On Wednesday morning, Jan. 18, the CPA announced that following their posting of enlarged copies of the Writ of Preliminary Injunction for public information, they deployed 24 security personnel in the Compania Maritima Property to “regain” its possession of the disputed premises.

To recall, the Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 10 in Cebu City has granted the petition for a writ of Preliminary Injunction filed by CPA in a 15-page order penned by Judge Soliver Peras issued on Dec. 23, 2022.

CPA to Rama: Not a declaration of war

Sought for comment on the pronouncement of the mayor, the CPA said that as an organization, they were only “implementing our mandate within our area.”

“This is not a declaration of war against city government or any entity,” the CPA said.

Cebu City Vice Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia, during a privilege speech during the city council’s regular session on Wednesday, Jan. 18, lambasted the action of the CPA.

He said that the CPA’s present legal action against the City merely impedes the city’s economic and tourism development.

Meanwhile, the CPA, in a social media post on Thursday, Jan. 19, said that CPA officials conducted a site inspection at the Compania Maritima Property to check on the ongoing clearing operations at the CPA staging area.

It also said that CPA officials inspected the roadway under the viaduct connecting to the tunnel under Plaza Independencia and South Coastal Road traversing South Road Properties (SRP).

“The said roadway is no longer passable because of the multi-level mechanical parking facility installed in the area and a stockpile of accumulated confiscated materials of the Cebu City government. The ongoing clearing operations are conducted in preparation for the construction of port facilities to augment CPA’s port operations,” read a portion of the CPA post.

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