Meeting with VM ends in stalemate

THE SECOND ordinance passed by the Dagupan City Council on tricycle operations in the city, this time defining the administrative requirements for the granting franchises for the operation of tricycles in the city was also vetoed by Mayor Benjamin Lim last week.

The veto followed after his meeting with Vice Mayor Belen Fernandez and Councilor Karlos Reyna last Tuesday reportedly ended in a stalemate.

Lim vetoed in its entirety Ordinance No. 1958-2010, enacted by the Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) on August 23, 2010, which prescribes the requirements for the recommendation and inclusion in the priority list of applicants for a franchise to operate a motorized tricycle-for-hire.

The ordinance, authored by Reyna and Councilor Redford Christian Erfe-Mejia, Lim’s political ally, in effect amends Ordinance No. 1883-2006 the ”Comprehensive Tricycle Franchise Ordinance no 2007.

In his letter to the SP dated 9 September 2010 through Vice Mayor Fernandez as the SP presiding officer, Lim said all the amendments to Ordinance No. 1883-2006 infringes on executive prerogatives and technically are acts of implementation which should be exercised by the executive department.

Earlier, Lim vetoed Ordinance 1957-2010, which renewed the franchise of at least 23 operators of for-hire-tricycles in Dagupan.

In an attempt to clarify the issues with Mayor Lim during a dialogue initiated by the mayor, both Vice Mayor Fernandez and Councilor Reyna cited the provision in the local government code “that subject to the regulation of the Department of Transportation and Communication, the SP shall regulate the operations of tricycles and grant franchise for the operations thereof per Article 3, Section 458, Paragraph V1 of the Local Government Code.”

Fernandez said the council took the initiative to dialogue with the mayor purposely to seek the recall of the veto since the veto affected the livelihood of 23 legitimate franchise-holders at the same time the council wanted to avoid a situation where the council will have to override the mayor’s veto.

In their meeting last Tuesday, the mayor stood pat on his view that screening and evaluation of applications for tricycle franchises and the processing of requirements are purely executive functions, which the legislative body is encroaching upon.

Vice Mayor Fernandez was later quoted that the SP will not abdicate its role provided by law.

In vetoing the first ordinance, Lim said, “The system is vague and I cannot understand why there is a need to increase the number of franchise holders. I need to be appraised with data for the greater good of the greater number of our residents.”

“Nobody is correct and nobody is wrong here. What is correct is to make a clear in-depth study if there is a need indeed to increase the number of franchisee or not,” he added.

OVERRIDE

The veto of the second ordinance came even before the city council could firm its decision to override the first veto.

Fernandez later told The PUNCH that the councilors are seriously considering to override both vetoes but refused to comment further, saying she does not want to pre-empt the SP majority’s decision.

But in an overseas call from Thailand, Fernandez said they will definitely override both mayor’s vetoes to help tricycle operators and drivers.

Under the Local Government Code, the SP, with a two-third vote, can override the veto within 30 days.

The vice mayor expressed concern over the plight of 23 tricycle operators who have disenfranchised by the veto and who now risk arrest by the Public Order and Safety Office (POSO) for illegal operations.

Fernandez said she has appealed to POSO and the police to spare these operators from apprehension until the issue is settled with finality. At presstime, it is unclear if POSO has been directed by the office of the city mayor to move against the 23 tricycle operators. -LM

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