THE Bacolod City Council will review its internal rules to determine if they can still add sanctions against Councilor Claduio Puentevella who boxed fellow councilor Dindo Ramos during the regular session on Wednesday, September 12.
Puentevella was reprimanded and excluded on Wednesday’s regular session after hitting Ramos.
Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran said they will study the possibility of imposing stiffer penalties should “this incident happen again.”
On Wednesday, Puentevella and Ramos were discussing the request of the mayor for an authority to sign on the proposed contract of agreement to be entered into by IPM Construction and Development Corporation (IPM-CDC) for the construction of Bacolod City Cell No. 2 in the sanitary landfill in Barangay Felisa.
The exchange escalated into a heated argument prompting the city mayor to call for a recess.
During the break, both Puentevella and Ramos stood up, but the former attacked the latter. Their colleagues immediately pacified them.
The Council consequently filed and approved a resolution reprimanding and excluding Puentevella in the session.
Ramos sustained a bruise on his left face and was brought to the Vice Mayor’s Office while Puentevella left the session hall.
Mayor Evelio Leonardia said this incident will further solidify their group, Grupo Progreso.
“What(ever) would be his (Ramos) action or legal action to be taken against Puentevella, we are all behind him. We believe that he is a victim here and it is so deplorable that it happened in full view of the media, the public and went viral on social media,” he said.
Leonardia said he is not blaming the City Council if they do not have a mechanism in penalizing the parties involved in the incident since it was unexpected.
But he is hopeful the City Council will learn from the incident.
“Based on what happened on Wednesday, Puentevella is now the number one recruitment agency of the Grupo Progreso because of what he did to Ramos, several Bacoleños were turned off and want to join our group,” Leonardia said.
Councilor Caesar Distrito, majority floor leader and chairperson of the City Council committee on laws, said that based on their internal rules, it’s very specific that they can only impose the penalty of exclusion from the session and it carries also the subsequent penalty of reprimand. Other penalties under the Internal Rules of the City Council as approved in 2016, only carries the penalty of suspension up to removal only if a member is absent without justifiable cause.
“Other than absences without justifiable cause, it will not be a ground,” he said.
Distrito noted that Ramos can file administrative, civil and criminal charges against Puentevella.
The City Council also requested the Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) to assign a police officer inside the session hall during the session.