BLOGISTA
By Cha Monforte
In every time there’s a season. There’s a time to unite, there’s also a time to be divided- for good. This might as well be fitting words for the latest goings on at the session hall of Davao del Norte Sangguniang Panlalawigan. Trabaho lang walang personalan, somebody quipped. Last Monday, Boardmember Greg Facula was a reasoning soul while obviously wanting to be apologetic “up there”. But since he’s the floorleader, he couldn’t escape from being the man in full charge of cutting up what appeared as procedural spiel, or better still, call it procedural snafu made by provincial administrator Rufo Peligro. And in behalf of his colleagues, he had to move for the approval of the SP’s resolution returning Peligro’s letter to the executive department, or to be blunt about it, to Peligro’s office, aka Office of the Governor aka Gov. RDR, their Lakas boss.
BM Greg Facula was in his usual serious mood in deliberating, but obviously he was extra cautious, and for several times called for a “win-win solution” in the midst of what appeared as a rearing of the SP’s collective head towards the governor. When Facula’s motion generated a silently unanimous “ayes”, there seemed to be a smoke that billowed up at the session hall from a fire of unknown motive in the wake of the approval of the porkless AIP for 2009.
The Davnor SP in the first place had already deliberated and approved the Kapalong’s supplemental budget measure for the increased hazard pay of the town’s health workers. They were expecting either a governor’s approval or veto message. But since it was the letter of Peligro, inserted as addendum in last Monday’s business of the day, which seemed to suggest that the SP had to approve still the provincial resolution confirming the Kapalong’s ordinance with the comments and findings of the provincial Local Finance Committee, which had contra views to the SP on the hazard pay issue, it was in effect saying that the SP had to reverse its position and grant lesser amount of hazard pay for the Kapalong health workers.That without having the measure passed first the usual process of legislation- the first reading and committee referral, then the committee report and the dispositive readings (second and final) right on the legislative chopping board, which will take at least two weeks. It is as though seeing that Peligro wanted to ram down into the throats of the BMs his letter.
Such bleeds one’s heart among fellow Lakas/Kampi partymates, knowing that the Davnor SP is one pack of legal minds, long-time and seasoned politicians, experienced ex-mayors, ex-vice mayors, ex-councilors who have long known of the executive and legislative processes in government. They, except perhaps to the SK BIMPO (Batang Inudyukan ng Magulang sa Politika, ang anak ng Trapo), for still a neophyte, as the reformist youths say.
The bleeding hearts among those in the SP might have said it’s trabaho lang, walang personalan given that their unison hasn’t actually stepped on the toes of the Capitol’s occupant but rather on the purse of Kapalong’s munisipyo, for the time being while there’s still a reglamentary period until October 13, the time in the season which offers for both the executive and legislative department to still work on and finally deliver the measure to its point of origin for a win-win situation. With that time in tempestuous season, now BM Greg and the rest of the bleeding hearts among the band of colleagues can still play it safe.
BLOGBUZZ: BM Facula is known in the local media circle as the former B. Dujali mayor whose 2005 Xmas party lechon was “kidnapped” by the media kongkos (It’s Press Freedom Month anyway and I am given the time in this season to crack a joke at the freest in the thankless trade where they say the angels fear to tread)…. To BM Greg, the chair of the SP commitee on media affairs, kongko isn’t a bad word. It’s a Chinese word which means to solicit. This has been a running word among those in the media painting a mix of comedy, derision, sarcasm, brashness and reality. At the strictest, it refers to those in the media soliciting though having no media outlets (print, radio and TV), or those who could not even write a single correct paragraph for a news…. During his mayoral reign, BM Greg was known by some to be a good media provider. (For online edition, visit my blog at: http://cha4t.wordpress.com, e-mail: chamonforte@yahoo.com or ruralurbanews@yahoo.com)
Recent Comments