CEBU City Vice Mayor Michael Rama chairs four major committees that deal with health, foreign relations, tourism and humanities and environmental concerns.

For the vice mayor, who is also the presiding officer of the City Council, to get a committee chairmanship is not uncommon but for one to chair four heavyweight committees is unprecedented in the history of the Cebu City Council.

The City Council, on its inaugural session on Tuesday, July 2, farmed out the committee chairmanships to nine councilors allied with the Partido Barug-PDP Laban, the majority bloc.

None of the seven BOPK councilors got committee chairmanships.

Rama chairs the committees on health, hospital services and sanitation; tourism, arts and culture; sister cities relations and big brother program; and environment and natural resources.

Councilor Raymond Alvin Garcia, the majority floor leader, said the Council house rules allow the presiding officer to hold a committee.

Also, the Local Government Code does not prohibit this practice, Garcia said.

He cited Section 3 of the Cebu City Council House Rules under the “Power, Duties, and Functions of the Presiding Officer,” that allows the vice mayor to “perform such other duties and exercise such other powers, functions, and duties as may be given to him or her from time to time by the Sangguniang Panlungsod and by the Local Government Code.” Garcia said it was the consensus of the group to give Rama a committee.

Rama got more than one; he got four.

So did Garcia. He chairs the powerful committee on budget and finance and three others. (See table.) In an interview after the inaugural session, Rama said his experience in legislation gives him the chance to put in his insights on the four committees he chairs.

Rama said it is not the first time in the country that a vice mayor holds a legislative committee.

He had been wanting to chair a committee since he won as vice mayor in the May 13, 2019 elections.

His being able to chair a committee is “special” because it is not often a vice mayor gets to do so.

When they knew the Barug-PDP Laban councilors were going to get the majority bloc, Rama said, they began discussing the committee chairmanships.

The vice mayor said they offered the Bando Osmeña Pundok Kauswagan (BOPK) councilors memberships in the committees but they refused.

Garcia confirmed this and said four meetings were held to discuss and decide what committee would go to whom. The BOPK councilors were considered to heed the call of Mayor Edgardo Labella for an “inclusive governance.”

With Labella’s team as majority bloc, Garcia said he expects deliberation and decision-making in the council to be “faster, quicker and smooth sailing.”

Except for ex-officio Councilors Jessica Resch and Franklyn Ong who chair the committee on youth and sports development and committee on barangay affairs, no BOPK councilor is holding a committee.

Councilor Lea Japson said they were not consulted regarding the committee chairmanships.

Minority Floor Leader Nestor Archival said he respects the decision of the majority. He said he will still carry on his job as a public servant.

Archival committed to support legislation and other measures that benefit the public. (JJL)