A PERSON with no mind or will is deemed as irresponsible or incompetent. It is incapable of autonomous initiative or independent judgment. So it must be led like a child or an immature person – or like a zombie.

This applies as well to an institution with no mind or will and is manipulated by remote control. It doesn’t function autonomously except by the machinations of an outside force or puppeteer. It is irresponsible and incompetent.

Cebu inmates' tribute to Michael Jackson

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A City Council in thrall to a political Boss who commands total obedience can hardly be deemed as responsible or competent. Its members’ status as representatives of the people is questionable.

More truly, they are representatives of the party Boss who, without bothering to preside, imposes his will and dictates how they vote or what ordinances to support.

Under such a leader, deliberation is a farce, debate futile. Measures or proposals may go through the mill but with only one outcome based on one criterion.

OK with the Boss? Approved! Not OK? Disapproved! Rubber stamp legislation.

Let us grant that the Councilors got enough votes to be proclaimed and sworn. But can anyone swear to the honesty of those votes or to the legitimacy of the means by which they were fished out of the slums, seedy neighborhoods and crony enclaves?

Would those votes have gone their way had not the faucet of patronage and corruption been opened wide and poured generously to drown out free choice?

One would have to be dishonest to answer these questions in the affirmative without flinching. Ascending to power on wings of patronage and demagoguery reeks of illegitimacy and corruption.

It takes a stretch of the imagination to view politicos elected that way as true representatives of the people.

As of last count, this Council has convened 99th times since its opening session on July 5, 2007. It has adopted or enacted close to 800 ordinances and resolutions.

But it remains unclear what or how many of these are notable or really useful. There is no handy compilation or collection of ordinances that one can consult or refer to with ease, making it difficult if not impossible to undertake an analysis of the quality, quantity, relevance, or wisdom of these enactments.

The absence of such a compendium of laws and regulations betrays a low level of competence, sophistication, and understanding of the role of a legislature.

Failing to provide user-friendly access to ordinances belittles the requirement of transparency and accountability in governance. It reflects badly not only on the competence of its chair but of its members.

It’s bad enough for a city council to have no mind or will. It is worse that it takes orders from a phantom presiding officer who stays in the shadow and communicates his wishes through whispered instructions, in conspiratorial huddles, or over a mahjong table.

Where in the world are “Honorable” Councilors reduced to enforcers of a political Boss?

On Tuesday, attend the session of the City Council and see how a leaderless legislature
operates. And, yes, be a witness to Vicente Y. Emano’s 98th consecutive failure to preside.