Tom: No committees for opposition
Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña does not want any committee chairmanship and even membership given to opposition councilors as the City Council reorganization is expected to happen next month.
Osmeña was vocal to admit that he does not want any member of Barug Team Rama PDP-Laban to be part of any standing committee in the City Council.
“Why should I care about that? They didn’t care about me. So why would I care about them. They don’t love me and I don’t love them,” Osmeña said.
Bando Osmeña Pundok Kauswagan is expected to have upper hand in the council next month with the entry of Sangguniang Kabataan Federation President Jessica Resch as ex-officio member.
Osmeña is also expecting another ally after the election of the Association of Barangay Councils because majority of the barangay captains are BOPK allies.
The City Council is currently on a deadlock with eight members from each camp. BOPK is composed of Councilors Margarita “Margot” Osmeña, Sisinio Andales, Jerry Guardo, Joy Augustus Young, Eugenio Gabuya, Alvin Arcilla, Mary Ann Delos Santos, and David Tumulak.
Barug Team Rama PDP-Laban, on the other hand, is composed of Councilors Raymond Alvin Garcia, Jocelyn Pesquera, Eduardo Rama Jr., Pastor “Jun” Alcover, Jose Daluz III, Joel Garganera, Renato “Junjun” Osmeña, and ABC president Phillip Zafra.
Vice Mayor Edgardo Labella, presiding officer of the City Council and the top elected official of Barug Team Rama PDP Laban, said it is the prerogative of the majority bloc whether to give the members of the minority a committee or not.
"If the majority will not give any committee memberships, we can't do anything about it. We'll try to ask, but as I said, it is the prerogative of the majority. The majority rules,” Labella said.
Garcia said they will not ask for committees considering that they are now the minority bloc. He said they will respect whatever decision that BOPK officials would make in the appointment of chairmanships and memberships.
“No need, that’s always been majority…Dili lang sad ta mangayo,” Garcia said.
Margot, the majority floor leader, said they have not included opposition councilors on the list of committee memberships and chairmanships because it is also the minority bloc’s decision not to accept.
“You know it was brought up, to tell you the truth, but they made it clear in one point, di ba? They will not accept naman. I don’t know if they will change their mind this time,” she said.
Margot said there are no big changes as far as committees are concerned. In fact, she said there are no additional committees in the City Council. At present, the council has at least 23 committees.
Margot said Resch, as SKF president, will be heading the committee on youth and will be a member of the committee on sports.
Margot prefers not to disclose other changes for she has to discuss it first with BOPK councilors and to Labella being the presiding officer.
“But we will always, I will always, as the majority floor leader now, out of courtesy and respect of the presiding officer the vice mayor, this is to be discussed before the inaugural,” she said.
During the inaugural session, which is scheduled for July 3, the mayor will also deliver his state of the city address.