NO SESSION was held Wednesday afternoon, July 25, at the Bacolod City Council due to lack of quorum.
Acting Vice Mayor Ricardo Tan, the acting presiding officer, started the 108th regular session at about 3:15 p.m. and adjourned it 30 minutes later as there is no quorum.
Quorum is the minimum number of members of a deliberative assembly.
Of the 14 councilors, only five were present.
Present were Councilors Claudio Puentevella, Wilson Gamboa, Sonya Verdeflor, Ann Marie Palermo and Ayesha Joy Villaflor.
Councilor Elmer Sy filed a sick leave while Councilor Noli Villarosa was on a vacation leave.
Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran and Councilors Caesar Distrito, Em Ang, Dindo Ramos, Cindy Rojas, Renecito Novero and Bartolome Orola were on an official trip to Long Beach, California since last week.
Only eight councilors are left, but Tan was appointed by Familiaran as the acting vice mayor and acting presiding officer.
Tan reiterated that only five councilors were present so there was no quorum.
He said this is the first time there was no quorum at the City Council.
He added they were not informed of the travel of his colleagues to Long Beach.
In his letter to Familiaran, Peter Ramirez, president of Long Beach Bacolod Association, invited the city officials to attend their events to promote the cultural and educational ties between the two cities.
Ramires said the Long Beach Bacolod Association is the official organization to develop and deliver cultural, trade and educational activities for the sister cities of Bacolod, Negros and Long Beach, California.
The association will be hosting several events from July 26 to 29 in Long Beach, California to commemorate one of the longest sister city relationships of Bacolod and Long Beach, which began in the mid-1990s.
On July 28 to 29, they will bring the famous MassKara Festival to Long Beach with food, trade shows, and entertainment.