SIX members of the Iloilo City Council face administrative charges for not attending the regular session on April 23, a move that a rival political camp claimed was deliberate.
The six officials are Vice Mayor Jeffrey Ganzon, Councilors Ely Estante Jr., Lady Julie Grace Baronda, Jose Efrain Treñas, Leila Luntao and Ma. Irene Ong. They were charged before the Office of the President (OP) with dereliction of duty as public official that resulted in the prejudice of the people's general welfare.
A letter from the OP dated July 4, 2019 directed the six officials to submit an answer within 15 days from receipt of the complaint. The officials received the letter July 9.
On April 23, 2019, the council was supposed to tackle the City Government's recommendation to declare a state of calamity due to water scarcity. But the council lacked quorum and failed to discuss the recommendation.
The councilors who did not attend the session are allied with Mayor Jerry Treñas while the recommendation to declare a state of calamity came from former mayor Jose Espinosa III.
Treñas and Espinosa are political rivals.
The administrative complaint against the six councilors was filed by former councilors Joshua Alim and Plaridel Nava last May 20, 2019 before the OP, which has jurisdiction over administrative cases against elective officials.
Alim, in a phone interview Tuesday, July 9, said the six officials did not file a leave of absence for April 23.
“Obligasyon namon ina ‘ya mag-attend session under the Local Government Code and kung indi ka maka-attend, file ka sang official leave of absence mo,” he said.
(Under the Local Government Code, it is our obligation to attend the session, and if you arel not able to attend, you should file an official leave of absence.)
Alim said he believed the absence of the six councilors was deliberate.
“Kibot lang ko wala kami quorum. Wala namon matackle ang mga important issues (We were surprised that there was no quorum. We were unable to tackle the important issues),” Alim said. He was still a member of the Council when the session was held.
Alim bowed out of the council on June 30. He ran for Congress, but was defeated.
Espinosa also believed the absence of the six officials was politically motivated. (Carolyn Jane Abello/SunStar Philippines)