THE majority floor leader of Davao City Council Bernard Al-ag will present in the next week’s session their resolution on the veto of the City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte of the City Land Use Plan 10 percent green spaces amendment.
Al-ag, in a media interview on Wednesday, said that based on the meeting done Tuesday, councilors jointly decided to respond on the veto message of the mayor in the next session.
He added that the majority of the councilors want to accept the veto and in the next session he will present a resolution before the council to accept the veto.
“So depende na kung mudaog ang resolution or dili because it has to be decided with the whole council (So it will depend if the resolution will win or not, because it has to be decided with the whole council),” Al-ag added.
He added that there are also others who do not want to accept the veto, but the decision will be up to the number of votes in favor of the resolution.
He said that once the council will accept the mayor’s veto, the amendment will be totally scrapped.
“Once that the council will accept the veto, the amendment will be considered erased,” Al-ag said.
He said if additional provisions of the City Land Use Plan will be added, it will be as a new provision and a new amendment and it will start from the bottom of the legislative process.
He said he will just wait for the councilors who will sponsor new amendment, but it is still not their priority as of the moment.
“Maghulat ta kinsa na konsehal na mu-sponsor pero sa karon wala sana, actionan sa namo ning veto then after this we will wait unsa ang next move sa council (We will just wait who will sponsor, but that is still not be prioritized, we will do some action with the veto, and we will just wait on the next move of the council),” Al-ag said.
He said that during the informal meeting conducted Tuesday after the session, around three councilors were not present.
"Of course, wala na namo giapil si Councilor Mabel Acosta, kay nag no man siya, so naay uban na naay bisita so duha or tulo wala,” Al-ag said.
Al-ag said that the meeting was conducted through invitation by Vice Mayor Paolo Duterte.
Councilor John Christopher T. Mahamud in a media interview on Wednesday said that in the votation next Tuesday, each councilor will be allowed to speak and defend their vote “We agreed to hear individual voices,” Mahamud said.
He added that he himself is still thinking on how he will vote.
“I have to weigh because there are many circumstances that you have to consider, because in the law we need to see that we will not break the harmony between legislative and executive, we have heard individual opinion so as of now I am still weighing my decision,” Mahamud said.
Councilor Bonifacio Militar, in a separate media interview, said he will accept the veto.
“There is no reason overriding the veto, first it is confrontational and second what will be our grounds to override? Is it potent or cogent enough to override the articulated grounds of the veto?” Militar said.
He also pointed out that if they accept the veto, then it is allowed by law that they can make subsequent corrections of the ordinance that has been made, because in the veto there are suggestions on how to improve it.
“Why not follow that or maybe expand more in doing so we are not hurting also the executive department,” Militar said.
He said he believes that improvement of the amendment is not prohibited and he believes that they will be understood by the civil society groups and green space sympathizers because they will improve it in the version they also wanted.
“I do not know what are the sentiments of others, but we are asked by the vice mayor to have our independent vote,” Militar said.