Friday, January 11, 2008 Editorial: The 2 village chiefs
IT'S a simple numbers game, a simple arithmetic, according to the camp of Barangay Cutcut chairman Robin Nepomuceno.
Nepomuceno is one of the contenders in the brewing tug-of-war for the lone ex-officio post reserved to the president of the Liga ng mga Barangay in the Angeles City Council. He came to the council session last Tuesday to claim his post as a new councilor.
But he was not alone in his intention. Jerry Alejandrino, chairman of Barangay Pandan, also came to the session hall on the same date. He, too, was claiming the same ex-officio post as Liga president.
Alejandrino, reports said, won as city barangay league president in the election held last December 18. He got 15 votes.
Nepomuceno and his allies, on the other hand, also held a separate election last December 29. He was voted as Liga president by 18 village chiefs.
From the information we gathered, the first election was sanctioned by the National League of Barangays. The second was held in compliance with a memorandum circular issued by the Department of the Interior and Local Government.
The presence of two Liga presidents claiming the same seat at the same time resulted in tension at the session hall. There were shouting matches. There were taking sides on the parts of the other village chiefs and elected city councilors. The tension only subsided when Nepomuceno reportedly "allowed" Alejandrino to "temporarily" take the highly coveted seat.
But the tug-of-war has not ended in the short-lived "truce." A standoff between the two village chiefs and their supporters still exists. Until one of them is undoubtedly declared as the real ex-officio councilor, the local legislative body will not be able to focus itself on pressing and more significant concerns.
Yes, it might be a matter of technicality that City Council members cannot resolve by themselves. But why would the honorable barangay leaders of the highly urbanized city let themselves be hogtied by some technicality?
Would they rather have nobody to represent their rank in the City Council than have someone there who is not their ally? Would they choose to have a deadlock in their midst just to stress their point, if not to allow themselves become mere pawns in the political checkers between two political families?
The solution, really, is quite simple: A compromise or willingness to sit down and talk. Perhaps another election to be attended, this time, by all 33 village chiefs of the city? Such solution, surely, will produce a Liga president who enjoys the trust and confidence of the majority of Angeles City's barangay leaders.
Forward movement for the benefit of the Angeleños would be a lot better than a standstill situation.
