MAKING Cebu City and its tourism facilities barrier-free and creating a septage management program were among the landmark ordinances the 13th Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) passed once year after the legislators assumed office.
All in all, the City Council has approved 18 ordinances.
Majority were measures that created a regulating and management body and addressed the health and sanitation problems.
Vice Mayor Edgardo Labella, who presides over the council, said the two ordinances were cited since these complied with national laws.
Pending
Republic Act 7277, or the Magna Carta for Persons with Disabilities, states that it is the responsibility of the state to ensure a barrier-free environment for person with disabilities (PWDs).
The city ordinance on barrier-free tourism was authored by Councilors Alvin Dizon, Margarita Osmeña, James Cuenco and Lea Japson.
RA 9275, or the Clean Water Act of 2004, mandates all local government units to prepare a septage management and share the responsibility in the management and improvement of water quality within its jurisdiction.
The city ordinance that addressed this was sponsored by Councilors Nida Cabrera and Sisinio Andales.
An ordinance sponsored by Councilor Gerardo Carillo granting P5,000 annual assistance to qualified single parents in the city is pending after Mayor Michael Rama vetoed it.
Labella said the ordinance also divided the councilors.
Doing their jobs
The council also approved 1,059 resolutions, most of which were administrative, budget appropriations or measures that addressed social and economic aspects of local governance.
Councilor Osmeña, who chairs the committee on budget and finance, has authored the most resolutions, followed by Andales, who chairs the committee on law.
According to records from the SP Secretariat, all councilors performed their jobs by sponsoring resolutions and ordinances.
The council has a P54-million budget to cover its operating expenses and personnel services this year.
“We only have a smaller budget this year but it won’t matter as long as the council will perform its mandate to comply with the General Welfare Clause of the Local Government Code,” Labella told Sun.Star Cebu. (RVC)