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Saturday, August 13, 2005
Cebu leaders want Macias to inhibit self
A Cebuano legislator who opposed the move to split Cebu into four provinces will be asking that Rep. Emilio Macias inhibit himself from hearing the bills.
Rep. Antonio Cuenco (Cebu City, south) said Macias’ biases for the bills are obvious.
Macias chairs the House committee on local government, which is handling the three bills that Reps. Simeon Kintanar (2nd district), Antonio Yapha (3rd district) and Clavel Asas-Martinez (4th district) filed, seeking to make their districts into provinces.
“His ways are undemocratic. Why does he insist on not holding a hearing in Cebu when this concerns all of us? He should allow a hearing in Cebu,” Cuenco said.
Cuenco added he also disagrees with Macias’ stand that the role of his committee is only to determine if the bills met legal requirements.
“The hearings should be done in Cebu, but you can already see they’re trying to keep these away from Cebu because they know it’s unpopular here,” said Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña, in his press conference yesterday.
“Of course I think he’s (Macias) biased. Klaro,” he added.
Apart from Cuenco and Osmeña, the camp of Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia is questioning the bills, saying these will violate the Local Government Code’s proviso that the remaining province must meet the income, land area and population requirements.
The remaining province will fall short of the required land area of 2,000 square kilometers, if all three provinces are created.
Garcia also pointed out that the bills lacked a petition from interested towns or component cities, as required under Article 9 of the implementing rules of the Local Government Code.
Equal time
Macias said his committee will only consider the technical aspect of the bills.
Cuenco disagreed: “You don’t only consider the technical aspect, you have to underscore the wisdom and merit of the bills. So what if it complies with the requirement, but it is not wise to do it? Mura ka ug buang (That’s being crazy).”
But Kintanar said there was no reason for Cuenco to call for Macias’ inhibition because he was “a very objective chairman” and gave each party equal time to give their statements.
Cuenco has been deputized by the committee on laws to join as a member of the committee on local government, in connection with the three bills to create Cebu del Norte, Cebu del Sur and Occidental Cebu.
He assured that next time the committee meets, he will file a motion to call for a vote on whether or not a hearing should be held in Cebu.
“I will convince the members to attend the hearing and I will ask them to vote in favor of my motion that a hearing should be held in Cebu,” Cuenco said.
There are 71 members of the committee. Cuenco said he is requesting Cebuanos to help him by sending petitions to House Speaker Jose de Venecia.
Vice Gov. Gregorio Sanchez also said he will initiate a movement to collect petition letters from Cebuanos to hold a hearing here.
Cut short
“The plebiscite is too late because we will already be wasting so much money by then. We must ask the people ahead to avoid unnecessary expenses. That’s why, a hearing should be held in Cebu,” Cuenco added.
The first committee hearing of the three bills last Aug. 10 ended in the creation of a technical working group to look at the bills in detail.
The hearing was cut short after Martinez moved for its adjournment in the middle of a verbal tussle with Garcia.
The clash has extended to some mayors, who were slighted when Martinez called them Garcia’s “cheering squad” during last Wednesday’s hearing.
“We are concerned mayors because it is our towns that will be affected by the plan. We went there voluntarily and not on the instruction of the governor,” Daanbantayan Mayor Ma. Luisa Loot said.
But while Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal was dismayed by the Garcia-Martinez argument, the Cebu City mayor saw no cause for worry.
“I’m sorry but I disagree, because that is democracy, a clash of ideas... I can understand he’s not accustomed to this because in the church, it’s obedience from top to bottom,” he added. (MBG/With LCR)
(August 13, 2005 issue)
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