NEW MAJORITY PERPLEXED

THE members of the new majority of the Dagupan Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) appear to be way over their heads.

Four weeks after the reorganization, the members of the new majority have been committing a series of blunders in passing their draft resolutions and ordinances and this unexpected development appears to have been caused by the two-week successive absence of Councilor Brian Lim as chairman of the committee on rules and procedures.

Observers recall how Lim, after the reorganization, was seen talking to one resolution sponsor to another giving instructions what they should say and do to conform with the new house rules.

So when Lim went on official leave for two sessions, it became evident that all the other members of the new majority are not conversant with the new set of house rules which they claimed were discussed and drafted before adopting it.

Councilor Karlos Reyna, the majority floor leader, was also absent during the SP regular session last July 27, leaving deputy majority leader Councilor Redford Erfe Mejia to take charge.

The confusion became evident after Councilor Jesus Canto, chairman on finance, was made to repeat his proposed ordinance thrice to conform with the new rules.

Noting that the discussions in passing resolutions and ordinances were getting disorderly because of the new majority’s apparent unfamiliarity with their new house rules, Vice Mayor Belen Fernandez, SP chair, could only shrug her shoulders.

She asked the councilors present reasons for their almost comical blunders in the discussion and filing of resolutions when they were they ones who crafted the new house rules.

When the members of the majority gave no plausible answers, the vice mayor later said she suspects that the house rules were not the collective work of the new majority but the product of only Councilor Lim and the rest simply affixed their signatures without understanding its contents.

AMENDMENTS

It appeared that the new rules invoked were, in fact, still not adopted because the councilors, including members of the new majority, were not issued a final copy of the new set of house rules.

When City Secretary Ryan Ravanzo was asked to explain, he said it was because Lim asked him to wait for the approval of the amendments in the final copy before releasing it.

Lim had proposed four or five amendments in the new rules but the body deferred discussion of the measures since he was not around.

Councilor Luis Samson Jr. then proposed that before the body accepts the amendments to the house rules, the councilors should get their copies of the proposed amendments first.

“Let us not accept the proposed amendments habang hindi pa natin nababasa yong house rules”, said the embarrassed councilor who unwittingly admitted to the new majority’s ignorance of the new house rules.

At the same time, Councilor Maybelyn Fernandez deplored the new practice of limiting the distribution of the draft resolutions and ordinances to a few preventing the councilors time to study the proposed measures before a scheduled session.

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