Guingona, Candido, Iturralde depend move vs. Elago, Jimenez

by Vic Larato – City Hall PR

Members of the majority in the City Council have strongly defended their decision to strip two of their colleagues of their committee chairmanships saying that reorganization of committees is a political reality which anti-administration council members are aware of and should accept.

Councilors Rey Candido, Nonong Guingona and Cesar Iturralde gave their individual comments regarding the issue, as Vice Mayor Manuel Dalipe Jr. blamed Mayor Celso Lobregat for the ouster of Councilors Juan Climaco â??Kimâ? Elago and Cesar â??Jawoâ? Jimenez Jr. from their committee chairmanships during a majority-initiated reorganization last July 15.Iturralde said it is a political reality that committee chairmanships belong to administration lawmakers just like in Congress purposely to ensure the swift implementation of the plans and programs of the administration.He said allowing anti-administration councilors to chair committees would lead to a situation where plans and programs of the administration will be sabotaged.Guingona said Dalipe, being a former councilor belonging to the majority, is aware that committee chairmanships are based on decisions of the majority and that the majority consults the mayor, being the head of the administration.He said it is reality that the mayor was part of the decision making in the reorganization of the committees, thus, â??why the need to blame (the mayor)?â?The councilor from Sta. Catalina also emphasized that the majority in the City Council have signed a 17-point agenda identifying various plans and programs for progress and development of the city. â??It is obvious that some of our members in the majority no longer follow our 17-point agenda.â?Candido said administration measures being proposed in the City Council are to support one or two or three of the 17-point agenda that the majority vowed to implement during their term. â??We were elected into office on the basis of this 17-point agenda.â?â??It is expected as part of the administration party, we will support administration measures and the moment you start contradicting these measures decided by the majority, naturally the majority will resent,â? Candido said.â??The administration canâ??t afford to have chairmen who are at logger heads with the administration. Under such circumstance, all measures will encounter rough sailing because the chairmen (of the committees) provide the stumbling block for the smooth implementation of the same.â?On the other hand, Iturralde, who proposed the reorganization in the City Council, said one of the reasons that prompted the reorganization was Jimenezâ?? declaration that he is no longer a part of the majority at the time (some 3 weeks prior to reorganization) when he was chairman of the committee on good government, then investigating an issue involving the Zambowood barangay council.Residents of Zambowood requested the early resolution of the case to prevent a crisis in the barangay and Jimenez made such a declaration, according to Iturralde. â??He made such a declaration and so let the Council records speak for itself.â?Elago has also not been supporting the cause of the administration but instead supporting the cause of the minority, thus, the reorganization, he said. â??This (reorganization) is simply putting them in the proper placeâ?, Iturralde added.No less than District II Congressman Erbie Fabian the other day advised Councilors Elago and Jimenez to accept reality as the same thing is happening in Congress. â??This is a reality that we should acceptâ?. (Vic Larato)

Via Zamboanga Today