Espinoza: A hodgepodge Cebu City Council

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Espinoza: A hodgepodge Cebu City Council
Elias EspinozaFree Zone
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This early, Cebu City Mayor-elect Nestor Archival has already put forward his plans to improve services at City Hall, which is undoubtedly what residents have long desired. However, he and his vice mayor-elect, former mayor Tomas Osmeña, do not have the majority in the City Council.

As Atty. Cheking Seares puts it in his column, “Bando Osmeña Pundok Kauswagan (BOPK) doesn’t hold the majority in the new Cebu City Council, as it is tied with Partido Kusug (6-6), but has the influence, guile, or charm to swing votes from Barug-Team Rama (4) and the ‘non-partisan’ ABC and SK reps (2).”

But having been a city councilor for decades, and the top-notcher at that, Mayor-elect Archival is already familiar with the trades of negotiation and collaboration. He must have already possessed the skill and capability to convince his fellow public servants on the other side of the fence on important and relevant issues that need their support, especially on matters of the budget.

This is the setup of the City Council when it assumes business on June 30, 2025. The BOPK councilors are Nice Archival, Alvin Arcilla, Bebs Andales, Paul Labra, Jose Abellanosa and Michelle Abella. The Partido Kusug councilors are Winston Pepito, Harold Go, Edgardo “Jaypee” Labella II, Joel Garganera, Jun Alcover and Dave Tumulak. The Barug-Team Rama Party councilors are Philip Zafra, Mikel Rama, Francis Espares and Harry Erran.

The two ex-officio councilors are Franklyn Ong, the Liga ng mga Barangay representative, and Rhea Jakosalem, representing the Sangguniang Kabataan Federation.

Councilor Ong, who ran for Congress but lost to Cebu City North District Rep. Cutie del Mar in the last election, stays as a member of the council representing the Liga ng mga Barangay despite his election loss.

Of course, Vice Mayor-elect Osmeña, as the presiding officer of the council, has a lot to do during the caucuses prior to the sessions in persuading or influencing the opposition councilors to support legislation that matters most to the City’s services and projects like improving the drainage system, garbage collection, traffic system and cleanliness.

North District’s number one Councilor-elect, Winston Pepito, who belongs to Partido Kusug, has already manifested this early during a news forum that he would support the projects of Archival.

It is worth recalling that most of the city councilors who belong to Barug and Kusug were once part of BOPK. If my memory serves me right, Tumulak and Zafra started their political careers with BOPK. Without being presumptive, it is possible that Zafra and Tumulak would support the initiatives of Mayor-elect Archival.

To have a smooth administration with less obstructionism from the opposition councilors, I believe Mayor-elect Archival must still work on building coalitions. To get the majority support of the council, Archival needs to negotiate and collaborate with the opposition to gain support for his initiatives.

Archival could try to identify common goals, find areas where his agenda aligns with the priorities of the other councilors, and build on these shared interests. As a matter of fact, Councilor-elect Pepito has already manifested his support for modernizing City Hall’s services.

Pepito emphasized that political affiliations will not hinder his service. “Public service is his top priority,” he said. Among his proposed programs is the modernization of City Hall services to align with the incoming administration’s goal of providing 24/7 access.

Certainly, I do not doubt the ability of Mayor-elect Archival to negotiate and convince the opposition councilors, most of whom were his colleagues in the council when he was a councilor for the North District, to support his programs and projects in the next three years of his term.

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