In San Pedro City, there is a very interesting quarrel between two political parties. It is made to appear the quarrel is between two elected councilors and the dominant party in the city council. The dominant party could not be more wrong by taking this view.
The bone of contention is on the question: should there be 12 seats in the city council. This question came about after the town of San Pedro became a city.
In the last election, two complete party line ups participated in the election, each fielding 12 councilor candidates. In the top 12 winners, 11th and 12th slots were taken by the opposition, each party getting six seats. A good balance in the share of votes but risky to the party of the winning mayor and vice mayor.
So the council decided not to recognize the 11th and 12th winner, going against the decision of the COMELEC that proclaimed all top 12 candidates duly elected by the people of San Pedro.
But to Vice Mayor Ina Olivarez, only 10 councilors are to sit in the council, referring to the city charter. This position would, of course, ensure solid hold by the vice mayor on the city council, and their group becoming the dominant party with six councilors under her wings.
Most of these councilors in the dominant party are tyros. As beginners, many say they act like seasoned traditional political animals, guided by interests of power groups and afraid of any erosion to their powers.
“They are fast learners on the use of political power, damn the interests of the people and the essence of democracy,” they claim
The council is the legislative body of the local government unit. It is where local laws are passed to promote general welfare and protect public interest. It is also a body that provides check and balance on local governance.
Given this mission, the higher the number in the membership of the council, the better is representation. And think, representation in this council promotes the essence of democracy.
But to Vice Mayor Ina Olivarez, allowing the two elected councilors sit in the council is violating the charter of the city, going against the authority that defines what is right or wrong in elections.
She acts like the goddess of righteousness, albeit misguided and blinded by loyalty to her dominant party. She lost sight of the fact that she presides over the council to serve the interest of all, not the interest of her party.
If she does not see the fact that she heads the council to serve all, the city of San Pedro is in trouble.
Lolo Uweng, please save this, your city from misguided minds.
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Instead of wasting energy and time over representation in the council, why doesn’t the council give time to correcting and repairing the damage the LGU has done to consumers of water supplied by PrimeWater, a company owned by the powerful Villar family.
PrimeWater performance is one of the most important concerns of the city but nobody is taking moves beyond lip service. This is a major health issue.
My kapitbahay insists though it is also a corruption issue, but as things are, negligence is one big reason this problem persists.