Shirley Belleza being shunned by colleagues?

CEBU, Philippines - It seems that the administration councilors of Talisay City are now slowly turning their backs against their majority leader, Councilor Shirley Belleza.

This after they deliberately missed yesterday’s regular session, reportedly because they did not want to approve Belleza’s two proposed ordinances, that were scheduled to be deliberated that day.

“They are making this issue against me. Why are they taking it against me, unsay akong sa? Why are they treating me as an opponent? To think this is not even about me,” Belleza said in an interview shortly after the supposed session was called off following a lack of quorum. 

The council was supposed to meet yesterday to tackle 11 proposed measures, including one proposed supplemental budget authored by Councilor Arturo Bas and Belleza’s two proposed ordinances.

But only three members were present, namely, presiding officer and Vice Mayor Alan Bucao had cancelled it due to lack of quorum.

Apart from Belleza, only Councilor Ben Abatayo and Sangguniang Kabataan Federation president were present.

According to Sangguniang Panlungsod secretary Emigdio Enjambre Jr. only Councilors Dennis Basillote and Rodi Cabigas had “so far” sent their respective notices of absence.

Basillote was reportedly sick, while Cabigas was on a special leave, said Enjambre. 

For his part, Bucao, in an interview with the media, said he believes that the councilors probably did not like the idea Belleza bringing inside the session hall a group of women who are members of the city’s women’s organizations and the barangay health workers (BHW).

At least 50 of them crammed at the session hall to supposedly witness how the council would deliberate on Belleza’s Proposed Ordinance No. 2010-08-1 or an Ordinance Amending Ordinance No. 2004-02 which is a measure strengthening RA 7883 or the Barangay Health Workers Benefits and Incentives Act of 1995; and Proposed Resolution No. 2008-05, which is backing another Proposed Ordinance No. 2008-03 (an ordinance adopting the Gender and Development Code of Talisay City).

Belleza is chairman on council committee on Women, Family and Children.

Bucao said the councilors might have avoided getting caught “flat footed” regarding the provisions of the proposal.

He said that like himself, the councilors would also want to study the two proposed measures, and that Belleza should have given them enough time to do it.

And since the two proposals have also specifically mentioned about funding from the city, Bucao asked why only now that the lady councilor had thought of the idea, which could be misconstrued as something to do with the coming elections.

For her part, Belleza said she submitted to the office of the SP secretary her proposed measures Friday morning, as agreed by the body, which to her should have given enough time for the councilors to study these.

As to allegations that she would gain from their approval, Belleza said she is only asking that the BHWs be given additional incentives such as the annual honorarium of one sack of rice to them every Christmas and a “subsistence allowance” of not less than P500 but not more than P1,000 per month.

As for her proposal to strengthen the city’s GAD focal persons, wherein there is one in each of its 22 barangays, has nothing to do with politics.

Belleza, who is on her third and last term explained that she is not running for public office in May, hence, there is nothing that the councilors who are running for reelection should fear about.

And besides it was the barangays who picked those GAD focal persons, thus, she has no idea who they are, adding that it is her “desire and intent to pass them before I go.”

Belleza said that she would re-file her proposals on the next session, and appealed to her fellow councilors that this time they would “evaluate (the proposals) with utmost objectivity.”

Although she feels aversion to the idea, the lady councilor believes that what the councilors did to her yesterday was a show that they were slowly letting her feel that she is an outsider, worse, an opponent.

Belleza said that the administration party, in which she has been part of since she started her political career, is “concocting schemes to slowly strip me of my committees.”

“I hope they will be sensible enough not to do that,” she said.

Belleza also chairs the council committees on Health and Tourism, Heritage and International Affairs.

She said that although she supports the administration ticket, she has already told the group that she would back the candidacy of her husband, former vice mayor Aberdovey Belleza.

The former vice mayor, a Liberal Party candidate, is running against the administration-backed Bucao. —Liv G. Campo (THE FREEMAN)