Vice Mayor Michael “Mike” Rama (left) delivers the City Council’s 100-day report during the regular session on October 22, 2019 in the presence of Mayor Edgardo Labella. | Gerard Vincent Francisco
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Three ordinances were passed while 70 others were proposed in the first one hundred days of the Cebu City Council presided over by Vice Mayor Michael “Mike” Rama.
In his 100-days report, Rama said the City Council had undergone a “paradigm” shift” that allowed them to work without partisanship, and instead work closely through “statesmanship.”
“Because I cannot do it alone. This new paradigm is simply to do away with partisanship. For too much politics is frowned upon. And what I emphasize as the head of this August body, is statesmanship,” said Rama.
In the first hundred days, the City Council was able to pass into ordinance the supplemental budgets number 1 and 2, which amounted to P190 million and P2.5 billion respectively.
The two budget ordinances were necessary for the city to access its fund and supplement the budget of the city offices following the change of administration on July 1, 2019, as new Mayor Edgardo Labella had taken over the city.
The mayor was also present during the regular session on Tuesday, October 22, 2019, to listen to the council’s 100-day report.
Aside from these budget ordinances, the council was able to approve the ordinance that would allow sessions to be conducted outside the Cebu City Session Hall and in the barangays.
The ordinance was proposed by Councilor Alvin Dizon to encourage the city council to reach out to the barangays who are in need of assistance.
Members of the 12th Sangguniang Panlungsod, where Dizon was also a part of, introduced the conduct of offsite sessions especially in the city’s mountain barangays of Bonbon and Guba. An offsite session was also held in Barangay Luz in the northern part of the city.
But it was only under the 15th Sanguniang Panlungsod that legislators passed an ordinance that would institutionalize the conduct of offsite sessions.
READ: Cebu City Council to hold offsite sessions in barangays
Aside from the three ordinance, at least 70 ordinances has been proposed by the council members, most of which are in line with the priorities of Mayor Labella as the majority of the council are his allies.
These proposed ordinances include the Cebu City College Ordinance, the ban for single-use plastic and plastic shopping bags for three days in a week in all, and the ordinance to regulate ambulant vendors in the city.
These ordinances are being reviewed in the council’s various committees.
“If we are one, all in one, one for all, together we can make things happen,” said Rama.
Meanwhile, the City Council continues to monitor the progress of Barangay Kalunasan after they formed a task force to focus on solving the stench in the area.
The Council has declared a state of calamity in the area and approved a budget of P480,000 for the collection of septic waste, treatment of waste water, covering up of open canals, and installing of tubes from the Female Dormitory septic tanks for easier collection of the hauling truck. The budget should temporarily solve the problem, at least for the remainder of the year.
READ: Labella orders City Health and City Administrator to solve Kalunasan ‘foul smell’
The task group, composed of the chairperson Councilor Nestor Archival, and members, Vice Mayor Michael Rama, Councilors Joel Garganera, Junjun Osmeña, Jerry Guardo, Alvin Dizon, Raymond Garcia, Eduardo Rama, Jr., and Niña Mabatid, visit the site regularly to check on the status of the case.
The state of calamity has yet to be lifted as the council continues to monitor the progress of the place.
In previous council reports, Archival said the smell has started to dissipate. /dbs