CAGAYAN de Oro City Councilor Leon Gan sounded alarm bells over a resolution authorizing City Administrator Teddy Sabuga-a as one of the official signatories of the bank transactions of the City Government.
Gan told his fellow councilors that only the mayor should take care of the financial concerns of the city, pointing out that the administrator is only ancillary in the absence of the city mayor.
"But in this case, it is the administrator who is authorized without limitation based on the proposed ordinance. Why not authorize the vice mayor because he is the second highest official of the city," he said.
Councilor Ian Nacaya, meanwhile, said that this resolution has limitations, citing Sabuga-a's appointment last January, where the mayor clearly stipulated that Sabuga-a can approve purchase request and vouchers not exceeding P200,000, among others.
But Councilor Nadya Emano-Elipe for her part, moved to amend the resolution and suit it to the administrator's powers and functions according to the Mayor Moreno's executive order.
"What we are pointing out is if this resolution is based on the executive order of the mayor then we cannot be absolute. Maybe we can amend the proposed resolution to suit the executive order that was issued by the city mayor, put limitations to it," she said.
The resolution got approved anyway, and only Councilors Gan, Emano-Elipe, and Lordan Suan opposed the voting.
Nacaya said there is no legal impediment to this action, as the move is within the City Council's powers.
"The conditions that councilor Leon Gan is worried about may be correct, but the mayor has set limitations in authorizing the administrator," he said.