By Ermin Garcia Jr.

 

THE conflicting views of the Department of Budget and Management and the Department of Interior and Local Government on the “rectifying” ordinance of the 7 epaLiFes must not be left unresolved very long. If left unresolved, the city government and its residents and the members of the Sangguniang Panlungsod will be mired in needless debates that can only aggravate the ongoing confusion on how and when to implement programs under the reenacted 2022 budget.

It can best be resolved by a meeting between the two regional officers of the agencies, to be attended by Vice Mayor Bryan Kua (who asked for the two officials’ legal opinion), City Secretary Ryan Ravanzo and City Legal Officer Aurora Valle for validation of records.

The process for the passage and timeline of the approved ordinance, submission of the veto  and the “rectifying” ordinance should be clarified by official records.

It is important to note that the shared legal opinions were arrived at based on different factors and perspectives, particularly, in considering the timeline and sequence of events before the question was raised.

The DBM opinion correctly held that if the process of passing an ordinance has been completed, i.e., the ordinance was debated, voted upon and passed by the city council, there can no longer be any new ordinance amending the previous.

The DILG opinion theoretically said rectifying an ordinance is permissible if the full process has not been completed.

Regretfully, at the end of the day, the city government will be back to zero with nothing or little else to work with in implementing its planned programs given already the extent of damage done by the seven councilors to the city, violating the Local Government Code in every way.

There is simply no precedence in legislation that an approved and a vetoed ordinance can be amended as an afterthought.

*          *          *          *

COVER-UP OF VIOLATION OF LAW. The 7 epaLiFes (Councilors Red Erfe-Mejia, Celia Lim, Irene Lim-Acosta, Dada Reyna-Macalanda, Alvin Coquia, Alfie Fernandez and Marilou Fernandez) were playing around with the system to cover up their real intent – to escape culpability after they sought to fully destabilize the city government by messing up the annual budget not realizing, out of sheer ignorance and arrogance, that they were violating laws of the land.

There is no such thing as “rectifying” (amending) an ordinance by merely citing “clerical errors” (misspelled words and wrong numbers).  The proposed “rectifying ordinance is, in fact, an amendment because it seeks to change the content and aim of the March 28 approved ordinance.   So, the 7 epaLiFes cannot escape responsibility over it. 

The approved mangled Annual Investment Program was merely a resolution, so  DILG is correct – it is “permissible” to correct it!

But in the case of the March 28 annual budget, their ill motives showed when they not only terminated services of job order employees, withdrew allowances of barangay volunteers and deleted funds for college students’ scholarships, but even sought to complicate the city government’s relations with national agencies by forcing the city government to default on its perceived support for them. Of course, it didn’t occur to them even that even being in the majority, they cannot violate the law. Violate, they did! Clerical error?

Well, they did their worse. They deserve the worse from our system and Dagupeños! 

*          *          *          *

JUNKET FOR P6.8-B LAND BANK LOAN DEAL. The announcement of the approval of the application of the Guico administration for a P6.8 billion credit last week did not surprise many, not after the entourage of members of the provincial board and their spouses, led by the provincial administrator, provincial assessor and the special assistant to the governor were seen celebrating at the United Pangasinenses induction ball in San Francisco USA. (But of course, they were there to celebrate!!)

The overseas trip naturally had to cancel two physical regular sessions of the provincial board but that apparently did not hold them back from making the “sponsored trip” to USA.  (I do hope the junketing board members will not have to deny that their trip was “hosted” by Guv Mon-mon Guico because that would make them liars in addition to being remiss in their official duties, canceling two regular sessions.  Were they still paid their salaries and allowances after cancelling the two sessions? That ought to be in the report of the provincial auditor).

I hope the board members thoroughly enjoyed their junket because that was obviously in exchange for their total and blind support to the Guico administration’s wholesale negotiations for the P6.8-B loan that will make the provincial administration indebted to Land Bank for the next 25 years.

But the junketing board members and provincial officials can still redeem themselves by scrutinizing details of the proposed projects that will assigned to the their districts to be covered by the P6.89 credit line with their independent minds.

At the very least , they should make public their willingness to be accountable and be transparent in for the projects that will be implemented in their respective districts. (Read our editorial).

*          *          *          *

FREE SWIMMING LESSONS AGAIN. City Mayor Belen Fernandez should consider reviving her swimming lessons program for children in the barangays. The excitement of families to frolic in beaches can be seen from the increasing number flocking to Tondaligan every weekend, unaware and not the least concerned that a relative can drown at the beach.

A swimming lesson during the summer weekend is a good time as any to encourage families watching the lessons, to enroll their kids.

The trauma of seeing one’s child die from drowning is inexplicable and unfathomable.

Take it from me. Our youngest sister, Karina, drowned in 1963 at the Blue Beach (now known as Tondaligan) when she was 11.  My father was distraught because he was in his office, while my mother was inconsolable because she was busy preparing for the food to be laid out at the picnic table when the incident occurred.

I could have drowned myself when I rushed to pull her back from the undertow and huge waves but I ended up being pushed out to the sea myself. I didn’t know how to swim. Fortunately, I remembered how to “back-float” (it was what I was taught first on learning how to swim).  That gave responding fishermen enough time to reach me some 5o meters away from the coastline.

So, to young parents out there, watch out for a swimming class and enroll your kids. (Let’s hope Mayor Ben will find the funds to organize the swimming lessons).

Share your Comments or Reactions

comments

Powered by Facebook Comments