A COUNCIL SHAKE-UP
Cebu City Councilor James Cuenco resigns as majority floor leader, paving the way for Councilor Margot Osmeña Less than a year after the elections, council heads for major changes in its committee leaderships. How will priorities change?
BOPK councilor says they will distribute chairmanship of committees and fill vacant positions on July 4
Cebu City Councilor Margarita Osmeña is the new majority floor leader of the City Council after Councilor James Anthony Cuenco of Team Rama resigned yesterday.
In a privilege speech, Cuenco offered the vacant position to members of the Bando Osmeña Pundok Kauswagan (BOPK), who became the new majority bloc, after the defection of some Team Rama councilors.
Despite being in the minority, Cuenco assured that they will not be obstructionists.
He also moved that all positions in the council, including the chairmanship of committees, be made vacant so BOPK councilors can elect new officers and members.
Osmeña said they will distribute the chairmanship of the committees and fill other vacant positions on July 4.
Under Article I, Section I, paragraphs 1 and 2 of the Council's House Rules, reorganization of the standing committees is only allowed every first Tuesday of July.
Inevitable
Aside from Cuenco, Councilors Joel Garganera, Raymond Garcia, Jocelyn Pesquera, Eduardo Rama Jr., Jose Daluz III and Philip Zafra are now the minority bloc.
Vice Mayor Edgardo Labella, who presides over the council, is also a Team Rama ally.
Cuenco said they have decided to give up their posts since it was inevitable they'd lose these.
"They already captured the majority of the council and it will be absurd for us to continue hanging on to our respective positions. We found it proper to avoid skirmishes," he said.
Rama used to be the president pro tempore, while the first and second assistant majority floor leader were Pesquera and Garcia, respectively.
For the committees, Pesquera, who is a certified public accountant and a lawyer, used to handle the committee on budget and finance, while Garcia, who is also a lawyer, used to be the chairman of the committee on laws and styling.
Cuenco was also the chairman of the committee on trade, tourism, local and international relations, arts and culture as well as of the council's oversight committee, while Daluz used to lead the committee on social services and housing.
Rama also handled the committee on public services and the committee on information and communication technology, while Garganera used to be the chairman of the committee on environment.
The BOPK became the majority bloc after Councilors Dave Tumulak, Nendell Hanz Abella and Jerry Guardo defected.