CEBU CITY — Suspended Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama has criticized Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia's departure from Partido Demokratiko Pilipino (PDP) and for blaming him as the primary reason for her exit.

Garcia announced her resignation on Tuesday, citing a conflict that stemmed from a complaint filed against her by Rama which led to her quitting the political party.

Rama responded sharply to the governor, emphasizing the governor was not truthful about her resignation.

The mayor, who is the PDP vice president of Visayas, took to his personal Facebook account to express his disappointment over Garcia's resignation.

"OMG!!!! Goodness gracious! I was shocked to see the resignation letter of a person I highly doubt fits the title honorable," Rama said in his post on Wednesday.

The mayor, who is currently serving a six-month preventive suspension, accused Garcia of lacking political loyalty and consistency.

Rama asserted that her commitment to PDP had waned long before their recent conflict.

"Her loyalty to PDP, I doubt if she had, was long gone even before our recent conflict and that is public knowledge. That resignation letter was simply not truthful," Rama wrote on his social media account.

The mayor further criticized Garcia for meddling in Cebu City matters, implying that her actions were unjustified and politically motivated.

"She has no business with Cebu City affairs and should just stay out of it," Rama said.

"True or what, I heard that it was a day after Malacañang ordered her to submit an Answer to the Administrative Complaint regarding her interference in the Affairs of Cebu City, she had the temerity of resigning as a member of PDP but not without using my name in vain," Rama added.

Rama also defended his use of the tagline "Singapore-like Cebu City with Melbourne features," which was indirectly criticized by Garcia on multiple occasions, saying Cebu should not copy other cities.

He added that based on recent results by Oxford on the list of the best cities to live in, Singapore is ranked 42nd and Melbourne is 9th in the global rankings.

Rama said he is not wrong in using them as benchmarks.

Rama also said that Cebu City has been included in the ranking at No. 436 and no other cities in Cebu province have made it.

Earlier this week, the governor announced her resignation from PDP after Rama filed a complaint against her before the Office of the President.

In March, Rama accused Garcia of misconduct and violations of ethical standards and anti-graft laws after Garcia's February 27 order to halt construction works of the Cebu Bus Rapid Transit System on "province-owned" lots.

Rama argued she had no right to interfere in Cebu City affairs, but in April, Garcia clarified she only sought a temporary halt to the bus station construction near the Capitol due to potential heritage law violations.

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