Cebu City Council divides committees, hands minority 1 chairmanship

When does the Cebu City Council’s presiding officer get counted? Only when the council checks if it has the required quorum, but not when deciding the number of votes needed to constitute a majority.

That opinion from the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) helped the Cebu City Council move forward yesterday, after an impasse that lasted at least two weeks.

Councilor Mary Ann delos Santos presented the letter from DILG Undersecretary Austere Panadero in a privilege speech during yesterday’s regular session. The letter reached the council last July 24.

Some minority councilors were not fully convinced by the opinion, but decided to heed it.

As a result, the council unanimously approved the nominations that Councilor Margarita Osmeña had raised last July 4, naming the heads of the committee under a reorganized council.

Of those identified with the minority, only Councilor Phillip Zafra was given a committee to head, the one on barangay affairs. Zafra represents the fed- eration of the Association of Barangay Councils in Cebu City’s legislative body.

The chairmanships of all other committees went to the councilors allied with Bando Osmeña Pundok Kauswagan. Although Barug Team Rama had won majority of the council seats in May 2016, several defections allowed BOPK to regain the upper hand.

After more than two weeks of heated discussions between the opposition and the administration bloc, the argument on determining a simple majority in the Cebu City Council has been settled following a Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) ruling on the matter.

Councilor Mary Ann delos Santos, in a privileged speech during yesterday's regular session, presented the ruling.

In a letter received by the council last July 24, DILG Undersecretary Austere Panadero said that while the presiding officer is a member of the council, the latter can only be counted in ascertaining a quorum, and not in the determination of the required number of votes necessary to uphold a matter.

Hearing this, Councilor Jose Daluz III said that while he respects the DILG opinion, he still has reservations.

“It did not really address the resolution that we have referred, the actual situation of the council. The opinion is for everybody, not the one we referred but I will conform,” he said.

Councilor Joy Pesquera shared the sentiment, but maintained her stand that the simple majority should be 50 plus one, as ruled by the Supreme Court.

But despite differing opinions, minority floor leader James Anthony Cuenco clarified that councilors of the Barug Team Rama bloc will “succumb to the DILG order.”

With this, delos Santos moved that the names nominated by majority floor leader Margarita Osmeña during the reorganization last July 4 as committee chairmen and members be ratified.

The council unanimously voted for the approval of the motion.

This meant that all nominated councilors can now officially function as chairmen and members of standing committees.