CAGAYAN de Oro Mayor Vicente Y. Emano will not apologize for the appointment of his controversial political propagandist to City Hall’s Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) and the denial of committee memberships to minority councilors.
The mayor made this point during his weekly radio program Sunday, in which he also defended the suspension of several employees right after he assumed office.
Emano said he sees nothing wrong with the appointment of Federico R. Gempesaw to the BAC, the entity that decides who gets contracts from City Hall projects.
Gempesaw had earlier been linked to the mysterious dumping of election materials in the landfill, tied by the camp of defeated mayoralty candidate Rolando Uy to “massive” cheating in the May 10 elections.
Opposition figures have derided Gempesaw’s appointment to the BAC, viewing it as a sign of lack of delicadeza (propriety) on Emano’s part.
But Emano said he had no regrets with his decision, saying he violated no law in doing so.
He also clarified that the controversial official was only designated on a “temporary” basis. The mayor also denied he was meddling into the affairs of the City Council, where his allies consists the majority.
He said he had no hand in the majority’s decision giving not even regular committee memberships to the opposition bloc.
“Assuming that it is true, but I have not violated any law. It’s our right whether they can be given committees or not,” he said.
Still, Emano insisted he had no knowledge with the allocation of committees during the Council’s inaugural session two weeks ago.
Opposition Councilors Roger G. Abaday and Edgar S. Cabanlas have accused Emano of making a rubberstamp out of the City Council.
While they did not aspire for chairmanships, the two said being regular members in committees would have given them the equal chance to serve their constituents. (Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro)