Reyna drops staff demand, pushes for data on calamity
COUNCILOR Librada Reyna, the lone oppositionist in the Dagupan Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP), refused to be silenced and fought back with another provocative privilege speech on August 11 in response to the statement of Vice Mayor and SP Presiding Officer Bryan Kua tagging her as an obstructionist.
Asserting that it is not politics to ask questions when the answers affect the city’s residents, she pushed for her earlier demand for data related to the recent widespread flooding.
Claiming that Dagupeños deserve to know the status of the calamity funds, she said she is still waiting for an answer to her letter addressed to Mayor Belen Fernandez on information regarding the relief operations.
But the mayor, vice mayor, and their allies doubt Reyna’s intentions due to the timing of her letter, which was sent minutes before the SP declared Dagupan under a state of calamity in the morning of July 23, at which time no calamity fund had been withdrawn.
The city government’s relief operations were still continuing as of last week.
Meanwhile, Reyna also bewailed what she described as unequal treatment accorded her by the vice mayor when he did not assign her any staff to assist in legislative works, as she has no committee chairmanship nor is a member of any committee.
Kua assigned SP Secretary Ryan Ravanzo to assist Reyna, but she protested that he is already saddled with much work.
However, she ultimately dropped her demand for a driver, a secretary, and one administrative officer, saying: “Pero, sige po, Hindi na ako aapela, dahil mas mahalaga na magpatuloy sa trabaho, kaysa magtagal sa alitan”.
As to the charge of the vice mayor that she has yet to submit a proposed resolution or ordinance in eight session days, Reyna reasoned out that it is her lack of resources and staff that was preventing her from producing one.
Reyna appealed to her colleagues to stop what she called bullying and just concentrate on legislating what would benefit the people of Dagupan. (Leonardo Micua)
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