TOMAS MAY STILL NEED ONE MORE DEFECTOR

Which party controls the Cebu City Council? BOPK (Bando Osmeña-Pundok Kauswagan) has nine members.

So has Barug Team Rama (BTR). Nine each: deadlock, stalemate.

BOPK’s move to reorganize the City Council is being opposed by BTR. Mayor Tomas Osmeña publicly complains, “(BTR) has currently crippled the council.”

BTR counts nine members because it includes Vice Mayor Edgar Labella. BOPK does not include Labella in its count, seeing him only as a presiding officer.

Which party is correct? Labella points to the “rule of law,” what he calls the “mandate of the law, rules and regulations.” Tomas who says he’s “sure of the law” insists BTR’s “obstruction” is “illegal.”

Both don’t cite the specific law, Supreme Court (SC) decision, or DILG regulation. The SC in the 2012 La Carlota City (Negros Occ.) vs. Sangguniang Panglungsod of La Carlota City [GR #181367] cited its 2004 Zamora vs. Governor Caballero case [#14767], which said that the entire membership must be “taken into account” to determine a quorum. In the same La Carlota ruling, the SC also cited a DILG opinion (#46, series of 2007) that the vice mayor is included in determining a quorum.

Both the SC and DILG must rely on Sec. 53 of the Local Government Code (LGC) that says “majority of all members of the Sanggunian.” Unlike in the Constitution, which only says “majority of each House.”

Now, that’s for counting quorum, which must also apply to any other transaction of the City Council, or any other local legislature, unless the LGC specifies otherwise.

Tomas may have to resume looking for another defector, who can more clearly swing the balance at the City Council in BOPK’s direction. Or even more, two or three, to assure control.