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Saturday, December 27, 2003
Nalzaro:Again, City Hall’s debts
By BOBBY G. NALZARO
THIS is a continuation of my column last Monday on City Hall’s debts to some Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP) member stations.
Last Wednesday’s editorial of Sun.Star Cebu hit the nail on the forehead when it said that the Cebu City Council seems to have scrutinized only what former mayor Alvin Garcia did but not what the present administration is doing. It supported my earlier view that the Council is using double standard in dealing with the matter. My good friend, Councilor Manuel “Maning” Legaspi, who is vice chairman of the committee on laws, has failed to answer the points I raised in my previous column.
In his letter published last Dec. 30, Legaspi said I sounded pathetic when I admitted that we media outlets did not know the internal procedure that requires the mayor to first ask for authority from the Council before entering into an advertising contract. He even cited two legal maxims: “The law maybe harsh but it is the law” and “Ignorance of the law excuses no one from compliance therewith.”
I don’t want to argue with Legaspi because he is a lawyer and I am not. But whose laws are they following, the one made by their political patron, Mayor Tomas Osmena? Meaning that when the mayor says okay the Council is then willing to shortcut the procedures? And when the mayor says no, the Council will then make it hard for an individual or entity to collect payments from City Hall?
Come on, Mr. Councilor. As I asked earlier, how many Commission on Audit (COA) rules did some City officials violate, especially on unliquidated cash advances?
I would remind my good friend that broadcast entities with collectibles from City Hall are not begging for mercy from the councilors. We are merely demanding payments for services already rendered. We religiously followed what was stipulated in the contract, and this is shown in the certificates of performance (cps) we submitted.
Indeed, this is not the first time these entities entered into contract with City Hall, but everything went smoothly when there was still continuity in the leadership at City Hall. Now that the present City Hall occupant has a bitter rivalry with a former political ally, suddenly the procedures were changed.
That is why I am challenging you, Mr. Councilor, to check the previous contracts if these were covered by City Council resolutions. If there were none, then I challenge you to file cases against whoever signed those contracts. Also, you claimed that politics was not considered when you rendered the committee report. Oh come on. Had your political patron been the signatory of the contracts, I am sure you will ignore the legal maxims you cited in your letter.
Meanwhile, you challenged the concerned media entities to go to court so that City Hall’s liability will be determined. But being a lawyer, I think you know how our judiciary works. Did the City Government pay its employees when the court decided in their favor the implementation of the salary standardization law? Mangamatay na lang ta ani Maning, dili pa ni mahuman.
You are a lawyer and you know your law. But why didn’t you oppose the construction of the controversial stalls along D. Jakosalem St. by Young Builders when under the law those are illegal?
(e-mail: bobby@sunstar.com.ph; cell phone: 0919-3181404)
(December 27, 2003 issue)
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