The official pressure is on.

Vice Mayor and Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) presiding officer Alvin Fernandez said the city council has already received a letter from the Office of the City Mayor demanding for the passage of the resolution authorizing Mayor Benjamin Lim to enter into a contract with MetroState Realty Corporation, the supposed winner in the public bidding for the construction of the P54-million Magsaysay Park Development Project.

The letter from Lim’s office is an indication that the city government is keen on starting the project in a bid to avoid the election ban for public works projects that would take effect on March 13 this year.

Fernandez, for his part, said he is ready to sign the resolution once all the attached pertinent documents are properly validated.

Both Fernandez and Councilor Alex de Venecia earlier expressed their objection to the deal, pointing out that the bidding process for the contract was flawed.

One of the attachments that remain to be validated, Fernandez told newsmen, is the transcript of the minutes of the session when the resolution was approved.

The proposed resolution was approved by the SP in its special session on December 19, 2006 by a vote of eight councilors in favor against three who registered their objection.

Those who voted in favor were Councilors Nicanor Aquino, Teofilo Guadiz III, Vladimir Mata, Librada Reyna, Danilo Torio, Luis Samson Jr., Eric Muñoz and Charise Perez. Those not in favor were Councilors Farah Decano, Jose Netu Tamayo and Michael Fernandez.

De Venecia was not around during the special session as he was in Tarlac and complained that he received the notice of the special session too late, which was in violation of the SP rule that notices of special session be communicated to members 24 hours prior.

The resolution was authored by Councilor Aquino but it was Councilor Guadiz who took the floor for hours and defended it. Aquino was totally silent during the session.

He said councilors are reluctant to sign the transcript until such time that the committee report of Guadiz, which served as the basis for the approval of the resolution, is signed by Guadiz himself.

“Unfortunately, members of the council who did pass the resolution and were the ones who authored it requested the extension for the passage of the minutes (of the special session) until such time that Councilor Guadiz signs his committee report,” he said.

This means that the councilors who passed the resolution do not wish to pass the transcript of the minutes of the special session without the signed committee report.

The Guadiz’ committee report, including the transcript of the minutes of the special session, would form part of the attachments to the resolution authorizing Mayor Lim to enter into contract with MetroState, Fernandez said.

The vice mayor said he has verified from Rita Palaganas, the city council’s records officer, that Guadiz has not signed his committee report.

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