A City Council of four: speedy but are its acts binding?

IF SOMEONE will question the validity of any act of the Cebu City Council with only four members, it may have a ground to stand on.

DILG, or Department of Interior & Local Governments, through Asst. Regional Director Elias Fernandez Jr. gave its approval to transact business. But while he cited Zamora vs. Caballero (GR 147767, Jan. 14, 2004), he didn't use its strict rule on Cebu City's case, saying the strict requirements may not apply when the "intention of the legislature" is defeated and its function crippled.

In the Zamora case, a board member assailed the declaration of a state of calamity by the Compostela Valley Provincial Board when only seven out of 13 were left to vote. The Supreme Court decided that it was null and void. As a collegial body, the legislature has members who not only represent constituents but also help it decide by voting on each question put to it.

A mandatory requirement of the Local Government Code, a quorum exists when "majority of all the members elected and qualified" are present. The basis is the number when the legislature started, not after, say, the legislature is decimated by mass suspensions, as what happened in Cebu City.

Wisdom of the rule surges especially when the law requires a specific number, say, a two- thirds vote of all members.

DILG used an SC decision that doesn't fall squarely on the facts of the Cebu City situation. Apparently, the DILG official did his own interpretation.

Downside

The Council of Four can say it's acting in good faith, having been given DILG's approval. And it helps iif it won't have to decide on a controversial proposal before its term expires on June 30.

There's another downside. People might come to like the speed with which the Council of Four does its job -- and agitate for a leaner City Council and fewer councilors.