By Ermin Garcia Jr.

 

THE suspension of Dagupan epaLiFe Councilors Red Erfe-Mejia, Alfie Fernandez, and Irene Lim-Acosta is plain karma and the direct consequence of their juvenile arrogance.

So the 4 epaLiFe Councilors Celia Chua-Lim, Dada Reyna-Macalanda, Alvin Coquia, and Marilou Fernandez, who were perhaps more restrained in the past, should count their blessings because they, too, together with their kabarkada three councilors, could have been suspended earlier by the Ombudsman for agreeing to block and delay the passage of the 2023 and 2024 annual budgets if Mayor Belen Fernandez or the minority bloc filed a case against them.

But with the suspension of the 3 in the last regular session, the 7 epaLiFes were seen frantically and desperately grasping at straws. The 4 epaLiFes scrambled with the 3 epaLiFes seated behind wooden barriers separating the gallery from the meeting hall, to redefine what “majority vote” should be since their barkada became the new minority overnight. (Recall that they invoked their “qualified majority vote” to reject the simple majority vote that approved the 2023 annual budget. The judge didn’t buy it).

This time the 7 epaLiFes invoked a ‘2/3 vote’ rule in a last-ditched move to block initiatives of the new majority (now composed of Councilors Michael Fernandez, Jigs Seen, Dennis Canto, Lino Fernandez and Bradley Benavides) to still maintain their control of the sanggunian as the new minority.

(By the way, the 3 suspended epaLiFes should have been shooed out of the session hall by the presiding officer to prevent them from participating in discussions among themselves. Note: It is incumbent for all government and private employees who are served preventive suspension to be removed from their posts physically until their suspension is served).

Well, this time the 7 epaLiFes concluded that the ‘2/3 majority vote’ of 7 votes should apply, not 5, the simple majority vote.

Failing to have their ‘2/3 majority vote’ rule upheld, the 7 epaLiFes thought they could simply invoke “no-participation,” a non-existent parliamentary rule. And when that manifestation was rejected since they could only vote in the negative or abstain, but not “no-participation” in voting, they staged a walk-out with the demand that a roll-call should be done to establish an absence of quorum.

In their still juvenile minds, they didn’t get legal advice that to move for a roll call one has to be present. It’s not a chicken or egg case.

So, when the new minority of 4 epaLiFes left the session hall and not one among the new majority moved for a roll call, the session continued. Good riddance!

Gosh, how difficult was it to understand the meaning of preventive suspension? But with their hubris over their sudden loss of control, the 7 epaLiFes were falling all over themselves like zombies.

It is likely that the 7 epaLiFes will resort to a total boycott until the suspension is lifted, a situation that will be welcomed by Dagupeños. Finally, the Dagupan sanggunian will begin to function as it should – to support legitimate programs for their benefit.

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RISKS FOR MCH LOCATION. Mayor Belen should be careful about agreeing to locate the planned Mother-Child Hospital at the vacated LTO area citing merely the concurrence with the SP resolution dictating that the facility should be at the LTO-vacated area.

If she knows that the ridiculous demand of the old majority (7 epaLiFes ) was without certification from both DENR and DPWH that the location has environmental clearance – that the area is not flood-prone and that construction in the area will not weaken the foundation of the Pantal Bridge which stands over the LTO-NBI area – why should she comply with it blindly?

Years from today, Mayor Belen will be made the ultimate culprit if and when the hospital is constantly closed because of flooding, or if the construction is eventually stopped because of risks of weakening a part of the bridge’s foundation.

However, since the resolution identifying the location was a separate measure from that which authorized her to sign an agreement with the DOH, the defective resolution can and should be amended by the new majority, directing the location to be where the DOH originally wanted it.

Let the DOH respond to the new resolution and be made accountable for it.

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NO ACCOUNTABILITY, TRANSPARENCY.  Why pay cash incentives that need computations and reasons to justify, indeed, when spending for overseas group educational tours is easier to explain, with detailed budgets for airfares, hotel accommodations and meals?

That would appear to be the convenient cover for the series of group travels of board members and department heads in the provincial department under the Guico administration.

While that may be the case, the Guico administration has not offered any explanation for the provincial officials’ trips to the USA and Japan.

I hope Guv Mon-mon, VG Mark and all the provincial officials who went on overseas travel as a group realize that they are inviting graft charges against them for these unprogrammed activities and expenses if there are no official records to explain these disbursements.

Now comes the reported recent group travel again of provincial board members to Barcelona, Spain and again kept away from the local media.

If it was the provincial government that provided the funds, what’s the justification? How much was spent?

If the provincial administrator can’t explain any of it, the provincial auditor certainly would have the answer.

It’s incumbent upon the Guico administration to show full accountability and transparency to its constituents in its first term.

So far, it’s zero! Tago-tago, bulsa-bulsa!

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