Playing politics
By Leonardo Micua
WHEN the SP majority banned journalists from covering the committee hearings on the 2023 annual budget of Dagupan, I had no choice but to watch the footage of the hearing again via the Facebook page of Mayor Belen Fernandez to get an insight into that proceeding.
But even that was not enough. Committee chairman, Redford Erfe-Mejia ranted endlessly on the caption on the photo uploaded on the mayor’s Facebook page, accusing the seven majority councilors of the Sanggunian of playing politics for their continued inaction on the proposed annual budget, the life blood of all of Dagupan.
Erfe-Mejia called the caption revolting and “below the belt”! Really? He then asked City Secretary Ryan Ravanzo to call Leni Rabara of the CIO if she was the one who wrote the “offensive caption”. Leni admitted writing it but it was posted with the prior approval of the mayor herself.
But before we delve into what happened next, methinks that the act of the chair of the committee of asking Leni’s presence, is already beyond his authority since Leni belongs to the executive department, not the legislative department. He didn’t even have the courtesy to ask Mayor Belen, who is Leni’s boss, to allow Leni’s presence before the committee.
Has Erfe-Mejia forgotten that he draws his authority and power from the approved Internal Rules of Procedures of the SP, which City Legal Officer Aurora Valle said weeks back “only applies to each and every individual councilors”. Translation: he has no more power over other officials and employees of the Dagupan City government.
Believing he has the all-mighty power to invite just everyone, Erfe-Mejia might be mulling the thought to invite us to appear before his committee to shed light on our stories that are not complementary to him, his committee and his fellow majority councilors over the issue of the annual Dagupan City budget.
Then he might as well invite Mr. Jerry Cambay, too, who, in his radio program on Sonshine Radio Dagupan, gave the councilor and his allies a mouthful the day after the committee hearing.
On the caption on Mayor Belen’s Facebook page accusing the majority councilor of playing politics, the mayor told Erfe-Mejia in a raised voice: “That is the truth. Hindi ba totoo?”
Then she pointed out to them that her office submitted the proposed 2023 annual budget, including all its integral plans, and the annual investment plan for 2023 to each individual councilors six months ago for them to study. Despite this, no action was taken on till today, reminding them again that the third quarter of the year is almost over and planning of projects, in case the annual appropriation is passed, will take another two months.
When Erfe-Mejia asked Mayor Belen if she has submitted all the documents required by the committee, hell almost broke loose in that hearing. One of the documents required by Erfe-Mejia and his colleague, Alfie Fernandez, was the list of Job Order Employees and consultants, as a condition for the passage and approval of the budget.
Mayor Belen told the committee that such requirement is a never a condition provided for in the local government code as well as in the guidelines provided by the Department of Budget and Management for the passage and approval of an annual budget but she reminded them that she already gave the numbers of JOEs and consultants. And those numbers should suffice. Indeed.
Mayor Belen is talking sense. In the DILG legal opinion No. 50, S 2005, it says: “ Xxx. It is noted that Adopted Rules come only as 4th source of parliamentary procedure. Accordingly, while there is no debate that the sanggunian may adopt its own IRP, the same however, should not be repugnant to Judicial Decisions, the Local Government Code and the 1987 Constitution considering that in the hierarchy, the latter sources enjoy higher priority.Xxx”.
That DILG opinion was in response to the last of five question posed by Vice Mayor Bryan Kua and the minority councilor before the DILG regional office, which reads: “Can the provisions of Resolution No. 7927-2022, the Sangguniang Panlungsod Internal Rules of Procedure (IRP), supersede the provisions of the Local Government Code?
Incidentally, the Dagupan SP majority has not made good its promise to seek clarification from DILG regional office about its opinions on the questions raised by VM Kua and the five minority councilors with respect to the questionable actions of the majority bloc in the SP.
Does it mean, they are conceding to it finally and are moving to their next plot?
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