BLOGISTA
By Cha Monforte
Davao del Norte Vice Governor Victorio “Baby” Suaybaguio until this writing is out of town. In his absence since last week, senior Boardmember Janet Gavina took the helm of presiding the provincial board, that was well known last year of its legislative vigilance, I should say. BM Gavina is spirited in steering on the provincial board. Maybe it’s due to the good stuff that the body is made of while the Great Tug-of-War has not yet come (Or will it really come?).
Well, for the last year’s feat, the Sangguniang Panlalawigan junked two controversial city ordinances- the Nickel Suaybaguio-authored Urban Poor Ordinance and the legally infirmed Purok Ordinance. But on the same year, the body’s policy confirmatory authority was somehow belittled if not undermined when City Hall enforced its Flexi-Fare Ordinance even while the measure was not yet confirmed at the provincial level.
Somehow the hurried pre-implementation of the flexi-fare measure was just a revenge of sort for what the SP did to the first piecemeal P7-to-P10 tricycle fare measure when they evidently put it in suspended animation while the gasoline prices were still up and only let go off the increase when gasoline prices had already decreased thereby putting the City Hall red in cheek reeling on the shadow of irate tricycle-riding housewives. Nevertheless, the year 2008 ended well with City Council and the SP declaring sort of ceasefire. But it was not really a joke when four lawyer city legislators hopped on at the Capitol’s SP conference hall to advance the merit and worth of their Purok Ordinance only to know after that the measure was returned to the sender. But now here’s one proof of democracy, while the city remains a true component of the province.
But for those two stones, the City Hall made even with the Capitol at the year’s tailend with that hurried implementation of the Flexi-Fare Ordinance (as if the provincial board didn’t exist at all). When the SP would say negative, we would stop enforcing, City Legal Officer and CTFRB chair Roland Tumanda offered though a caveat. But who among the SP could junk the fare measure when the gasoline prices were decreasing last Yuletide Season and P1-fare saving was the first thing wanted by Tagumenyos as a Christmas gift. The City Hall felt vindicated, and more so last January 2 when it gave a New Year’s gift of another P1-fare saving to the city’s riding public. We pray that gasoline prices nowadays could hit the range of P20 to P29.99 so the tricycle fare can be adjusted down to P6, and what a forthcoming sigh of relief.
BLOGBUZZ: But Councilor Joedel Caasi on Monday’s session expected an uptrend of gas prices and reported about cases of arguments breaking down between tricycle drivers and passengers over whether the fare is still P8 or P7. Time to mount an electronic billboard for fare advisory infront the City Hall…. It’s almost mid January. Time flies so fast. We have a half month more of waiting on who should be the Comval standard-bearer for the District 1 congressional post. Is it VG Ramil or BM Maricar?…. A bubuwet said that Senator Chiz Escudero, a presidential wannabe, secretly went to Tagum City last week and met with someone who has a good record of electoral cheating. Intriguing lie?…. A pundit tipped us that a Davnor congressional dreamer is changing color and repackaging himself. From a social drinker, he’s now fast becoming a drunkard, if only to cast away his old image of being unreachable un-makamasa. He was last seen drinking til the wee hours of the night with a town priest. Who is he? (For online edition, visit my blog at: http://cha4t.wordpress.com, for comments and reactions, e-mail: chamonforte@yahoo.com, text 09069104553)
Filed under: davao del norte, davao del norte boardmember janet gavina, tagum officials, tagum tricycle fare, vice gov. victorio suaybaguio, davao del norte, davao del norte boardmember janet gavina, tagum officials, tagum tricycle fare, vice gov. victorio suaybaguio
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