RESOLUTIONS REQUIRED IN SP PROCEEDINGS

DAGUPAN Vice Mayor Bryan Kua, as presiding officer of the Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP), stood by his decision to maintain his rejection of the series of motions by the seven opposition councilors that sought to invalidate all actions taken by the legislative body when three of their members were placed on a 60-day suspension starting November 5, 2024.

One of the motions nixed was that of Councilor Redford Erfe-Mejia who declared that the Internal Rules of Procedures (IRP) of the SP adopted on July 5, 2022 and amended on October 23, 2023 “continues to be in effect and uninterrupted till today and any acts undertaken contrary to the said rules are considered ultra vires.”

Kua pointed out that he rejected Erfe-Mejia’s motion because this was not in the form of a resolution with a corresponding serial number, asserting that the SP speaks through resolutions and not in the form of motions.

The original 7 majority councilors were reluctant to convert Erfe-Mejia’s motion into a resolution because if they did, this would be a tacit recognition that a new IRP was adopted in place of the old one following a shift of power in the SP when the minority became the majority as three of the seven opposition councilors were suspended.

Councilor Michael Fernandez, now the majority floor leader, and his fellow councilors allied with the city administration fully supported Kua’s position on the need for a resolution.

Erfe-Mejia also made a motion for the resumption of Councilor Librada Reyna as majority floor leader, but Kua cited the same protocol that requires the filing of a resolution.

Fernandez noted that the SP on November 5, 2024 passed Resolution No. 8175-2024 that adopted a new IRP, and Resolution No. 8175-A that elected him as the new floor leader.

As majority floor leader, Fernandez continues to call the shot in steering discussions and in the preparation of the agenda of the sessions.

In their written manifestation in their regular session last January 14, the seven majority councilors expressed “no or zero confidence “ on Councilor Fernandez as floor leader since his group no longer holds the majority in the city council.

Fernandez dared them to convert their written manifestation into a resolution. (Leonardo Micua)

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