By Leonardo Micua 

 

THE biggest political issue in Dagupan in 2024 that impacted on the city and its people was the 60-day preventive suspension of three opposition councilors by the Office of the President.

The case stemmed from a complaint filed for their behavior unbecoming of elected public officials during the rowdy council session on October 10, 2023, when they were caught on camera badmouthing the complainant, Vice Mayor Bryan Kua.

Councilors Redford Erfe-Mejia, Alfie Fernandez, and Irene Lim-Acosta are the only councilors in Dagupan’s history who were ever met with a suspension for such behavior.

Their suspension that started November 5 resulted in a power shift in the local law-making body, relegating the boisterous seven-member majority to the minority of four, while the previous minority took control as the new majority of 5.

This was a telling blow to the Lim power broker that was orchestrating the symphony in the Sanggunian that make sure that Mayor Belen Fernandez does not succeed in her development programs and spoil her chances of reelection in May.

Sidelined for 60 days, they were left at the mercy of the new majority as they groped for words in every parliamentary debate, and chose to walk out in a huff to boycott the sessions.

With the four minority councilors opting not to participate in the sessions, the new majority passed an unprecedented 27 ordinances and more than 130 resolutions as of the last city council session on December 27, its last working day for 2024.

Without the power shift, the series of requests from the executive department for the immediate passage of long-pending supplemental budgets and other urgent measures would not have been granted, and the city would have likely ended up with another reenacted budget in 2025.

But God, the Almighty, works in many mysterious ways by removing the thorns in the throat of Mayor Fernandez even just for a good 60 days.

Without much ado and without blinking an eye, the new majority headed by Councilor Michael Fernandez worked overtime to pass the crucial measures designed to improve the lot of Dagupeños.

When they return to their posts this January, assuming that the Department of the Interior and Local Government will no longer extend their suspension (which is still possible), the three suspended councilors and their four colleagues will wrest back the majority in the council, but in no way can they undo what had been done and implemented in the last 60 days.

They can again do endless filibustering or finally give substance to their old threat to go to court, but remember that they have already done so before as far as the 2023 annual budget is concerned, but justice was not on their side.

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For Pangasinan, the biggest political issue last year was the imposition of a 90-day preventive suspension on Urdaneta City Mayor by the Sangguniang Panlalawigan, based on the findings of its Blue Ribbon Committee.

That was supposedly for a violation of the Ease of Doing Business when he reportedly did not issue a business permit to an applicant who was the subject of numerous complaints about his polluting establishment.       

The complaint against Parayno and Ronald San Juan, the city’s business and licensing office division chief, it was initially endorsed to the Anti-Red Tape Authority in Malacanang, but having no power to suspend, the matter was  endorsed back to the provincial board.

Parayno said he was the only official suspended without being called to air his side.

Convinced that he did not deserve his suspension, he went to court to question the order. But before Regional Trial Court Executive Judge Crisma Vismanos issued her decision, the Sanggunian again slapped Parayno with another one-year suspension. 

The RTC eventually ruled that Parayno’s suspensions were ultra vires or void ab initio and ordered him to return to his post as if nothing had happened, but stopped short of penalizing the provincial officials.    

I heard that Mayor Parayno, through his lawyer, is now seeking justice before the Ombudsman for the wrong done to him. 

Parayno believes that his suspension was politically motivated as members of the board are close allies of Gov. Guico, whose wife is running for Urdaneta mayor this coming May and will be up against the incumbent.

It’s payback time in Urdaneta! Watch out. 

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