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Monday, January 30, 2006
City attorney agrees to go through council
CEBU City Attorney Rodolfo Golez and the City Council have agreed on the proper procedure as to when he should render legal opinions on matters brought before his office.
Golez and council members, along with Vice Mayor Michael Rama, came up with a common ground in an executive session the council called for Wednesday last week.
“We have agreed when he should come up with an opinion, especially opinions to pay, because we (council) will always have the last say,” Rama said in an interview.
The council set a meeting with Golez after a few city councilors alleged Golez seemed to have failed to study matters the City Council endorsed to his office.
Last Wednesday, they discussed with him certain rules and procedures on endorsements and referrals.
Golez became the subject of discussion during the council’s regular session two weeks ago after City Councilor Edgardo Labella made a committee report on the request of the Metropolitan Cebu Water District (MCWD) to be exempted from posting cash bonds when conducting diggings.
Cash bonds
Golez reportedly approved the request, which Pesquera said contradicts a City ordinance requiring cash bonds to be put up when utilities do diggings or establishments set up streamers.
Rama also wondered why Golez already had an opinion on the MCWD request when by procedure, the request should have been tackled first by the City Council, which would endorse it to Golez’s office for opinion.
Pesquera also cited other instances where Golez was quick to decide that the City should pay certain individuals, like when the city attorney approved that the City pay homeowners who claimed the City intruded into their property.
During the session, Councilor Hilario Davide III pointed out that Golez made an opinion on the MCWD request because the City Planning Office asked him to.
Golez, he said, merely confirmed the alleged intrusion and had no option but to agree on the payment.
It turned out the request was addressed to the mayor’s office, which forwarded it to the city planning office, which asked the city attorney to render a legal opinion.
Avoiding conflict
In an interview yesterday, Rama said that to avoid conflict between the legislative and executive bodies of City Hall, Golez agreed that requests for legal opinions should come from the council.
Golez was told to assess the request and inform the executive department that it might be pre-mature for him to make an opinion if the request did not pass first the council for perusal.
He agreed to Councilor Edgardo Labella’s comment that Golez made an opinion on the MCWD request “in good faith” and simply because of “pure and simple lack of knowledge in the workings of the City of Cebu.” (RHM)
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (January 30, 2006 issue)
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