OPINION: Clarity in Davnor SP

oct 9

Things are making clear for the Davao del Norte Sangguniang Panlalawigan. There’s democracy at works in the legislative body as seen in the debates occurring in the session hall, whenever there are issues in need of contentious deliberations. There’s also particular vigilance that is a hallmark of the provincial board, as seen markedly whenever there are moments that need of collective rising up above from political considerations.

The cases of close scrutiny on budgetary matters rendered by the provincial board like its opposition to the Kapalong employees’ assertion on COLA (the Kulea case) that has reached the court whose judgment is yet to be rendered is proof of such profound vigilance, no matter what. Many other cases we monitored that the provincial board has minutely intruded, we dare say, onto technocracratic maze that for several counts it declared partial inoperativeness of the budgetary measures of municipal governments. Two sessions ago, it unmasked as but hollow the supposed particularity of Provincial Engineer Josie Jean Rabanoz when boardmembers having eye on details spotted an erroneous entry to Rabanos’ project design leading her to admit it and offer an alibi of having committed a typographical error.

When last Monday the provincial board rose above imaginary divisiveness under the same and similar party or political affiliation of what else but the administration’s and mustered unanimity against an initiative from the executive, although we still don’t know at the moment on whether Governor Rodolfo del Rosario had been apprised of the letter of his administrator Rufo Peligro before it landed to august hall of the legislative body, the SP’s message to return the letter to the executive in what could be seen as procedural snafu ring a bell of the body’s timely independence.

The other day the SP joint committee of organizations and laws backed up by the consensus of the collegial body following a caucus rendered the inevitable- in thumbing down the legally infirmed Purok Ordinance, that has already become a water under the bridge in all of the SP’s body languages. In the plenary by Monday, the motion to send the doomed Purok Ordinance back to its point of origin is but mere formal compliance. Most urgent now that needs order and sanity in the perception of things and resolute simplification of the already blown-up measure is the final resting of the legally infirmed Purok Ordinance, so the puroks in the city could already start moving, working and serving the people as usual than be constantly immobilized biting their feet in a limbo not of their making. The SP has long been bound to deliver its collective verdict to strike down this particular measure of the city government that has become a driving wedge between the City Hall and the Capitol.

For the SP’s many defining moments of decisions, whether on question of fact or on question of law, the Davao del Norte legislative department has kept on empowering itself. It warded off assaults of unquestioning councils bringing untenable argument that as reviewing body it could not question the wisdom of an LGU project or of the proponent LGU citing a ministerial case.

For all this legislative excellence, under diversity in unity, while the SP has not sprung up filibusters who could turn the august hall into an arena between an irresistible force and an immovable object, which is unproductive, shows only that its members are rolling up their sleeves in the tough spadework of legislation. Trabaho lang, walang personalan. Alas, when boardmembers rise up in unison regardless of politics they only want not to be put into precarious, questionable situations later and only want to protect the honor and integrity of their own turf, their mandates and the whole institution they serve including those at the helm of leadership. All of these show only one thing and that is, it is doing its work, and hence ought to be rewarded with much respect and magnanimity. (Cha Monforte/Rural Urban News) http://ruralurbanews.blogspot.com

Filed under: davao del norte, davao del norte news, davao del norte rufo peligro, davao del norte SP, davao del norte website, davnor boardmember, tagum news, AGR, davao del norte officials news, gov del rosario davao norte, rdr, rufo peligro

OPINION: Bleeding hearts

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)

Filed under: boardmember greg facula, davao del norte rufo peligro, gov. rodolfo del rosario, boardmember greg facula, davoa del norte rufo peligro, davoa del norte sk bimpo, gov. rodolfo del rosario, media kongko