City Legal Office: Harmonize PCAC and POC

CEBU, Philippines - The Cebu City Legal Office renders its opinion on the passage of Ordinance No. 2277 creating the Cebu City Peace and Order Council (POC) and its implication to the existence of the Police Coordinating and Advisory Council (PCAC).

For the legal office, both may be harmonized, although the provisions of the order that created the POC must prevail.

City Attorney Joseph Bernaldez said that by national law, the Police Coordinating Council has already been replaced by the Peace and Order Council, however, it doesn’t mean that City Ordinance 2209 which created the PCAC is totally repealed.

“The two ordinances could be harmonized to give effect to the provisions which will be beneficial to the City but taking into consideration the provisions of the Local Government Code and the Executive Orders enacted in relation to the Peace and Order Council,” the opinion reads.

Bernaldez explained that the local ordinance creating the PCAC, which essentially has the same function as the POC, cannot supersede the national law under the rules of statutory construction.

“An ordinance should give way to a stature. The powers of the local government units, being delegated powers, cannot be superior to its source,” the opinion reads.

The newly created POC has a wider coverage or more members. The head will be the mayor while the vice mayor will be the vice chair. — (FREEMAN)