Councilor Margarita “Margot” Osmeña is the new majority floor leader, replacing Councilor James Cuenco, who announced his resignation in a privilege speech during yesterday’s session.
CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA
As Team Rama formally accepted being now the minority at the Cebu City Council, with the resignation of Councilor James Anthony Cuenco as majority floor leader, the council elected Margarita “Margot” Osmeña to replace him.
Cuenco and the other Team Rama councilors moved, in an Omnibus resolution, to declare all positions in the City Council vacant, including the positions of Presiding Officer Pro Tempore, Majority Floor Leader, 1st Assistant Majority Floor Leader, 2nd Assistant Majority Floor Leader and the chairmanship and membership of all standing and ad hoc committees.
Cuenco also opened the floor for nominations for these positions, but only the position of majority floor leader got a nomination, which was Councilor Osmeña, the mayor’s wife.
The new majority floor leader put on hold the appointments of committee chairmanships, thus committee reports were also put on hold until the committee chairmen are named.
Being the new minority also came after Team Rama renamed itself Barug Team Rama as the tables were turned.
Resignation
Cuenco resigned his position in a privilege speech during yesterday’s session.
“Allow me to go first by tendering my resignation as majority floor leader and pass on the baton to whomsoever the new majority will elect (on Tuesday) to pave the way for the smooth transition of the legislative business in this august body,” Cuenco said.
After the May 2016 election, despite the defeat of then mayor Michael Rama to Tomas Osmeña, Team Rama dominated the Cebu City Council.
The chairmanship and other positions of the council’s 20 committees were all filled by Team Rama.
However, these past months, Team Rama councilors David Tumulak, Nendell Hanz Abella and Jerry Guardo jumped the fence and affiliated themselves with Bando Osmeña-Pundok Kauswagan (BO-PK), making BO-PK the dominant party.
They were appointed deputy mayors: Tumulak for Security and Police Matters, Abella for Education, Science and Technology and Games, Amusement and Sports and Guardo for Youth and Sports Development and Infrastructure and Urban Planning.
Inevitable
In a separate interview, Cuenco admitted that BO-PK would dominate the Council and it is just right to resign now before the inaugural session scheduled on July 4.
“Even if we wait until July 4, they (BO-PK) have already captured the majority of the Council,” Cuenco said.
Cuenco said that it will be absurd for Team Rama to continue hanging on to their respective positions in the Council specially as they are now the minority.
Considering that they no longer dominate the council, the remaining members of Barug Team Rama decided to vacate their positions to avoid skirmishes.
“Ingon si mayor (Tomas Osmeña) they have to grab the posts but I say there is no need because we are sincerely willing to yield the chairmanships and all the positions to the majority as an act of good will to all of them,” Cuenco said.
Councilor Osmeña, meantime, said that the BO-PK councilors had already discussed the chairmanships but not formally.
“(We) Kinda talked. But no rush,” Osmeña said.