MOVES AFOOT TO SAVE KAWIT DEAL?
It’s just the first day of the new fiscal year for the Cebu City Council, but is the administration already working on reviving the P18-billion joint venture agreement (JVA) that was junked last May?
This may be the case, according to opposition Councilor Jose Daluz III, who raised concerns on the amendment the Bando Osmeña Pundok Kauswagan (BOPK) councilors made on Section 11 (Reconsideration of a Question), Article 10 of their house rules.
Based on the amendment, it shall be in order for any member who voted in the majority of any question, or who voted in the negative when the legislative body was equally divided, to move for reconsideration of such a vote, at the same or next succeeding regular meeting of the legislative body. A motion to reconsider after being lost shall be again in order.
Daluz, however, said the amendment will mean there is no finality to the council’s actions.
Again and again
“Because anytime, it can be reconsidered. The previous action of the council was that there was a window of one week, when you can ask for a reconsideration. Meaning, there is a finality to every decision of the council. Ang ilang gihimo karun, (what they’ve done means) there is no finality because every denial every time by any councilor can be reconsidered. If we deny something, sige lang ta og balik-balik og consider (we can consider it again and again),” he said.
The councilor suspects that this was a move by the administration to make good Mayor Tomas Osmeña’s plan to push through with the deal with Universal Hotels and Resorts Inc. that wants to develop Kawit Island in the South Road Proper- ties for an estimated P18 billion.
“There’s no other reason sa akong tan-aw and we know nganong ila ning gibuhat (why they did that). But rules have prospective effect. This is the time we are adopting the rules so it should have prospective effect. Reintroducing the JVA (joint venture agreement) can be a subject of discussion if there is a raise in the share of the City because we have a share in mind that we can agree on. You can’t revive the dead, or else it will become a monster,” Daluz said.
Less than two months ago, the Council disapproved a resolution that would have authorized the mayor to sign the joint venture agreement. After the Sangguniang Kabataan Federation elections, however, the mayor’s allies in the council gained one more member.
Committees
Before the amendment was adopted, opposition Councilors Daluz, Raymond Alvin Garcia, Jocelyn Pesquera, Renato Osmeña Jr., Joel Garganera, Eduardo Rama Jr., Pastor Alcover Jr. and Phillip Zafra voted against it.
Those who voted in favor were BOPK Councilors Margarita Osmeña, Sisinio Andales, Joy Augustus Young, Dave Tumulak, Mary Ann delos Santos, Alvin Arcilla, Eugenio Gabuya Jr., Jerry Guardo, and Jessica Resch.
Also yesterday, the council elected Margarita Osmeña as the majority floor leader; Tumulak as president pro tempore; Andales as first assistant majority floor leader; Gabuya as second assistant majority floor leader; Pesquera as minority floor leader; and Garcia as assistant minority floor leader.
Councilor Osmeña was also elected as chairperson of the committees on budget and finance; tourism, sister-cities relations, arts and culture; and women and family affairs.
Tumulak leads the committees on public order and safety; information and communication technology; and disaster risk reduction management and climate change adaptation.
Andales, on the other hand, heads the committees on labor, employment, cooperative and livelihood; laws, ordinances and styling; and oversight.
Gabuya now leads the committees on housing; games, amusement and sports; and public services.
Arcilla was elected chairperson of the committees on social services; agriculture and rural development; markets; and urban planning.
Young chairs the committees on trade, commerce and entrepreneurship; education, science and technology; and scholarship program.
Delos Santos, on the other hand, heads the committees on health, hospital, services, and sanitation.
Meanwhile, ex-officio member Zafra heads the committee on barangay affairs, while Resch, the council’s newest member, leads the committee on youth development.