Costly standoff

BARELY a month and a half into their new terms of office, the executive and legislative branches of the Dagupan City government are already showing stark signs of a power struggle.

Now there’s a standoff between the two sides, with Mayor Benjamin Lim at the helm of the administration side while Vice Mayor Belen Fernandez, as chair of the Sangguniang Panlungsod, heads the city council.

Lim comes from the Nacionalista Party while Fernandez is a member of the Liberal Party, which forms majority of the council members. Coming from opposing political parties, there already is a fundamental gap between the two camps, although everyone promised to work together at the start of their three-year tenure last July 1. But as early as now, it seems that promises have been broken and the rift appears to be widening.

The standoff stems from a memorandum issued by Lim on August 6 directing all department heads and staff not to attend regular or special sessions and committee meetings of the SP without his clearance.

Following the memo, four city officials snubbed the invitation of the SP to appear during its August 9 session to clarify issues involving the city’s finances and implementation of programs in the city in aid of legislation. Again on August 13, some department heads ignored the SP invitation to appear during a committee hearing. The council then decided to call for a recess, then went straight to the department offices where they resumed the scheduled hearing. Lim reportedly reprimanded the council members for this action.

Lim and the council did try to discuss the memorandum during an executive-legislative meeting on August 9. But no compromise was reached as Lim stood pat on his order while the council members questioned the propriety and legality of such a directive.

The order of Lim, which has been likened to the much-criticized gag order issued by former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to executive department preventing them from attending Senate hearings and investigations, is quite baffling in light of his repeated proclamation that his leadership style is anchored on public consultation and participation. The council members, after all, are representatives of the public that elected them.

What’s happening now is costly for the city. The people of Dagupan will end up as the ultimate losers if this battle rages on. How can a city with its officials busy at war hope to see development programs and projects getting quickly achieved?

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