THE approval of the minutes of a past council session can only be done by those who attended that session, based on an earlier legal opinion of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).

This was the ruling of Vice Mayor Bryan Kua when all seven members of the opposition insisted on participating in approving the minutes of sessions on December 23, 26, and 27 last year, and January 2, 2025, which they all did not attend.

Citing what they called jurisprudences that have since became part of the law of the land, Councilors Redford Erfe-Mejia and Alfie Fernandez who, along with Irene Lim-Acosta, had just returned from their 60-day preventive suspension, insisted on participating in the approval of the minutes of the four past sessions.

This was also the sentiment expressed by their fellow opposition Councilors Librada Reyna, Alvin Coquia, Celia Lim and Marilou Fernandez who, records show, boycotted those sessions.

Kua earlier invoked the same DILG legal opinion during the session on October 10, 2023 when Councilors Alfie Fernandez, Irene Lim-Acosta and Celia Lim — back from their vacation abroad — wanted to participate in approving the minutes of a session wherein the 2023 annual budget of P1.1 billion was passed by the minority bloc.

That October 10 session turned rowdy as Alfie Fernandez, Lim-Acosta and Erfe-Mejia flared up and displayed acts unbecoming of public officials, even badmouthing Kua.

There was no badmouthing during the session on January 7, but Alfie Fernandez was heard insulting the vice mayor at one stage, saying: “Halos anim na taon mo na rito, hindi ka pa marunong”; and to Kua’s allies: “Napakapal naman ang mukha ninyo.”

Councilor Jeslito Seen, one of the allies of Kua, considers these as more derogatory remarks coming from a councilor who just came back from his 60-day preventive suspension by the Office of the President.

Noting that the opposing was belittling the DILG legal opinion, Seen said that legal opinions were based on Supreme Court Rulings Annotated.

Erfe-Mejia then challenged VM Kua to present a copy of the DILG legal opinion that he was invoking, and when this was finally presented after a long recess, the former again asked the latter to show his letter that prompted DILG to issue the legal opinion. The letter was presented after another long recess.

All items in that session’s agenda were just referred to proper committees. (Leonardo Micua)

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