By Leonardo Micua

 

 

I was taken aback and offended when I heard City Secretary Ryan Ravanzo, whom I bumped into at the River Grove on JdV Expressway, Wednesday night, tell other local media that I was already banned from attending and covering (via zoom) all proceedings in the Sangguniang Panlungsod.

 

But when I called up Ryan Friday morning before I could write this column for clarification, he said that it is only on committee hearings by the seven-man majority that I was denied access of per the instruction of Councilor Redford Erfe-Mejia.

 

Actually, I first heard about my being banned from City Information Officer Eva Visperas early Wednesday night in a short pow-wow over dinner. But I did not give it much thought until I heard City Secretary Ravanzo say that it was Erfe-Mejia who ordered it. I could only shake my head in anger. I recalled the day prior when Erfe-Mejia raised a parliamentary inquiry addressed to the chair on who were participating in the zoom session and Acting City Secretary Rea Manuel read the names. 

 

Then, I still vividly recall when Violy Ferrer of Aksyon Rdyo asked Ryan if she can be given access to the zoom portal of the SP, he readily replied: “Kayo puede, sila hindi na.” If that was it, then I knew that SP already decided to discriminate against me (as managing editor of The PUNCH) to keep me from reading and watching the proceedings of the SP. This is totally unacceptable and violative of press freedom!

 

Secretary Ravanzo naturally tried to mollify me but the broadcasters who heard him about my being banned, already broke the news in their radio programs the next day that I was banned by the SP from their zoom portal but with no reaction from Ryan or the Magic 7 in the Sangguniang Panlungsod.

 

There is only one reason for the ban. They want to prevent me from writing and reporting the facts about the SP that has been taking too long to pass the long proposed Supplemental Budget No. 1 and the proposed Annual Investment Plan.

 

After six committee hearings by members of the Magic 7 alone, the two measures are still pending on the table despite the issuance of the Audit Observation Memorandum of the Commission on Audit affirming that 141 scholars violated the terms of their contracts and should be asked to return the money spent by the Dagupan City government for them.

 

While I cannot fault Ryan fully for being the messenger with the instruction to stop giving me access to the committee hearings of the Magic 7, which by the way, sounded to me not just committee meetings but all the proceedings in the SP. 

 

The motive behind the ban in all committee hearing is much too obvious. The Magic 7 that comprises all committees of SP does not want the public to know what they and their committees agree on. Mind you, only majority members are members of all the committees. (Only the minority floor leader is allowed to attend but can only observe and cannot vote).

 

Ravanzo, who came to our office later to make the clarification and repeated that I am only in committee hearings that I was banned to see on zoom while the other media men, can view the committee hearing via zoom.

 

And while Ryan stressed it’s, indeed, only Vice Mayor Bryan Kua who can order him to deny any one access to the SP proceedings by zoom, why was he following an anomalous directive from Erfe-Mejia, denying me access to committee hearings?

 

I know VM Kua will not order my banishment from the zoom portal of the SP because he knows The PUNCH is helping clarify issues that need to be understood by the Dagupan public. He even made it clear last Tuesday’s session that sessions of the SP, whether by zoom or face to face, is open to all, even to overseas Filipinos who are from Dagupan.

 

In that Tuesday session, I noted that Erfe-Mejia appeared to be anxious over the presence of people he didn’t like to see participating when he made a parliamentary inquiry addressed to the chair. There were actually only four of in the zoom but I was the only one identified as member of media, “from Sunday Punch.”

 

I will know this Tuesday if I’m still banned in the zoom portal of the SP when it holds its next regular session.  

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