Wednesday, January 30, 2008 Angeles council committee reorganized By Reynaldo G. Navales
AFTER several hours of heated arguments among the Angeles City councilors last Tuesday, the City Council passed a resolution reorganizing different standing committees.
However, the controversial position, Barangay Affairs committee, which is supposedly chaired by the Liga ng mga Barangay president, was left unoccupied or blank as agreed upon by the councilors.
Both Barangay Cutcut chairman Robin Nepomuceno and Barangay Pandan chairman Jerry Alejandrino are claiming the LB presidency.
The reorganization resulted in the recent defection of the former members of the majority block to the group of Mayor Francis "Blueboy" Nepomuceno's allies in the City Council.
The new majority bloc now consists of Councilors Ares Yabut, Agapito del Rosario, Rudy Simeon, Arvin Suller, Ric Zalamea, Dan Lacson, and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) federation chairperson Carl John Miranda.
Members of the new minority bloc are Vice Mayor Vicky Vega-Cabigting and Councilors Jay Sangil, Willie Rivera, Ruben Maniago, Maricel Morales and Jerry Alejandrino, who was previously recognized by City Council as LB city president.
The new majority floor leader is del Rosario and the assistant floor leader is Yabut. The new minority floor leader is Rivera and his assistant is Sangil. The president pro tempore is Zalamea.
Zalamea, who was earlier selected by the majority bloc as chairperson of the committee on women, waived the position in favor of Morales. The lone lady councilor thanked Zalamea and accepted the committee chairmanship.
Sangil, meanwhile, lauded the members of the majority bloc for "heeding" the call of Cabigting to leave the barangay affairs committee unoccupied.
Sangil said their group respects the new majority bloc led by del Rosario.
"This is politics. They are the new majority, so we have to respect them at least in this particular issue (reorganization)," Sangil said.
He also urged Simeon, who is now the chairman of the labor committee, to continue Simeon's initiatives and efforts in dealing with labor disputes.
"I believe that Councilor Simeon is apt to the job," he added.
Sangil was instrumental to the resolution of some labor disputes in and out the Clark Freeport where hundreds of workers in the city and nearby towns were involved.
