Friday, July 06, 2007 Editorial: Short of fireworks
THE so-called promise of "fireworks" at Thursday's City Council session did occur, though it wasn't explosive enough to make any sort of dent overall on the Padayon administration camp's hold on the local legislative branch.
According to those who watched the short council session, opposition Councilors Bong Lao and Roger Abaday took turns taking the vice mayor to task for, among other things, his failure to give them some committee chairmanships.
The two also castigated the vice mayor for violating the prohibition on smoking in the City Council session and told him to follow the House rules.
It didn't help any that Vice Mayor Vicente Emano responded like a kanto (street) boy to these opposition councilors, muttering words like "panuyaw kamo" (literally you're demons) to them and otherwise keeping what some onlookers described as a "nervous front" during the reportedly brief session.
Whether Thursday's session is an indicator of things to come, there is Emano's caveat that he doesn't have to preside over the sessions all the time as he previously disclosed in radio interviews at his favorite radio stations.
He indicated that since Padayon owns the majority of the council, he can assign other councilors to take turns presiding the sessions. Hence, the opposition councilors can expect not to get away with a lot of their sneak attacks of sort on Emano.
What did happen Thursday as shown later in TV coverage was nothing short of comedic, with Emano banging the gavel to adjourn the session, remarking over the microphone that he can now smoke afterwards.
It would be a matter of speculation on whether the city residents at large would give a damn about, let alone bother with the ongoing City Council sessions with Emano at the helm, which may be just the way the vice-mayor and his gang like it in the first place.
The way Emano put it, he was expecting all councilors to work with him during the session with no questions, objections or violent reactions at all.
As he himself knows, that's not how democracy works. Of course there are those who abuse the rights and privileges accorded to them in a democracy, but that's the inherent danger and risk that one learns to live with, especially in government.
As it is now, Emano would have to find a way to get a better handle of presiding the City Council sessions or else it may only turn out to be a series of one upmanships that only go nowhere, are unproductive and ultimately a source of amusement to some and a disappointment to others.
