Soon-Ruiz, 2 others leave council chairmanships

CEBU, Philippines — Mandaue City acting Vice Mayor Nerissa Corazon Soon-Ruiz and City Councilors Andreo O. Icalina and Cesar Y. Cabahug, Jr., have stepped down as head of their respective City Council committees.

This, after Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) Federation president and ex-officio council member Fleuritz Gayle Jumao-as proposed during their regular session yesterday that Ruize vacate her chairmanship and position, particularly that of the chairman on the Committee on Health and Hospital Services and as the president pro tempore of the body.

Ruiz did, but admitted that while she expected it to happen, she did not think it would come so soon.

“I have been very diligent in my job as the chairman of the Committee on Health; but if that is the wish of the majority, because it has been seconded, and I know the path already that I would be relieved (of my positions)…then so be it,” she told her colleagues.

She said, though, that her being told to let go of her positions is somehow unfair just because she is not part of the majority in the council.

“Pero sige lang, kanang mao nay atong giingon nga mayoriya man gyud ni, mao man ni ang council, alkanse man ko. Pero…I hope nga ang mopuli would have the heart to really work sa kaayohan sa kadaghanan sa atong Mandaue, labi na sa panglawas,” Soon-Ruiz said.

Icalina, on the other hand, said he voluntarily gave up his chairmanship because he was already being left out.

“Sige ko’g pangutana sa akong department og unsay atong mga issues ug unsay atong mahimo pa gyud, pero tungod aning gitawag nila og traditional politics, trapo, dili naman gyud sila makig-coordinate nako,” he said.

He admitted thinking of already giving up his chairmanship for some time now but thought of giving it more time, until this time.

Meanwhile, Cabahug said he, too, voluntarily left as committee chairman because he believed that his colleagues in the City Council would do it soon anyway, after hearing the request for Soon-Ruiz to step down.

“Tangtangan man lang gihapon mi, giuna gani ang vice-mayor sa iyang chairmanship sa health, mosunod ra sad ang amo. Giunhan nalang namo og relinquish. Kay aron di mi tangtangon kami nalang ang ni-offer,” he said.

Meanwhile, Jumao-as said that her manifestation was meant to help Soon-Ruiz focus more in her responsibility as the acting vice mayor, particularly being the City Council presiding officer.

“Para nako makatabang kang kons kung as acting vice mayor wala na siyay komitiba under her name, kay mo-take up man gud siya og time (being a committee chairman),” said Jumao-as, in an interview.

During the same session, Soon-Ruize fired back at Jumao-as, whom she said has never been present in any local health board meetings of the committee, supposedly as youth representative.

“I have to tell the body, nga si SK chairman who is a member of the committee on health, has never been present, not once, in our local health board…nga unta importante baya kay she represents the youth. Naay program sa local health board nga nagkinahanglan sa lihok ang mga batan-on,” she said.

Jumao-as, in response, said that while what Ruize said was true, she always sent her legislative assistant to those meetings.

“Akong representative mosulti nako sa mga problema, sa mga nahitabo. Mao nang ang reason nganong nakita nako unsay mga problema sa health, and which is also the reason why ni-suggest ko nga siguro ihatag ni nato sa laing konsehal nga kanang lesser lang kanang committee kay para maka-focus siya since dako kaayo ni nga komitiba ang health,” Jumao-as said.

Politically motivated

Soon-Ruiz said Jumao-as was only “used” by the majority of the council to remove her from her chairmanship.

“Pero akong kaluy-an ba si Gayle gyud nga ang ila intawong maoy iduot,” she told reporters.

“Siya nay gigamit nila. Kay kung isog pa na ang uban, sila untay mosulti. Kani intawong neophyte ilang gamiton og sulti,” she added.

Soon-Ruiz said that proper protocol dictates that the member that would be divested of his chairmanship should be consulted first rather than being abruptly suggested of it at the plenary.

She also said that instead of her, there are councilors that should be removed from their committee chairmanships for not doing their job.

“Kana unta ilang huboan kanang tao nga wala magtrabaho. Kadaghan anang mga wala nagtrabaho nga konsehal uy, walay tunga-tunga sa ilang mga meeting. Pero sige lang, mao man gyud ni ang politika, dawaton ko lang,” Soon-Ruiz said.

Sought for her comment, Jumao-as denied being used by the majority, saying it was her personal initiative to help ease the workload of the acting vice mayor.

“Siguro, she thinks nga politically motivated, pero para gyud nako, personally, isip tabang gyud to namo niya nga kanang wala na kaayo siyay ingon ana nga trabaho, maka-focus siya sa SP, maka-focus siya as acting vice mayor,” she said.

“Kanang good intentions lang gyud. If she thinks nga politically motivated, then it’s her opinion, we have to respect that. Para nako, limpyo and akong konsensya, nga niingon ko, kani isip ni tabang niya,” she added.

Jumao-as said the Committee on Health is a huge committee and should, therefore, have a chairman who will closely look lead it, especially that the city is facing the threat of Mpox and that of Dengue, whose number of cases is rising.

“As part of the local health board, nakita nako ang problema sa health. So, kinahanglan gyud siya’g someone nga maka-focus gyud ba niya. Di man na nato siguro mahatag pa gyud kang kons (Soon-Ruiz), siya na bayay acting vice mayor, bug-at gyud kaayo na iyang task ana, so para matabangan siya ni-suggest nalang ko, ni-manifest ko nga kung pwede ihatag sa lain nga konsehal,” she said.

“I don't feel nga tungod ra sa dengue cases, nga maoy hinungdan nga i-relieve ko ninyo. Unsa man akong kakuwang? Nakuwangan kog pagdakop anang mga mosquitoes, when, in fact I, was there during the meeting, emergency meeting, sa dengue nga atong gi-convene ang dengue task force,” Soon-Ruiz said, in response.

New Chairmen

After Soon-Ruiz, Icalina, and Cabahug stepped down, City Councilor Cynthia Cinco-Remedio was named as the new Committee on Health and Hospital Services chairman, while City Councilor Marie Immaline Cortes-Zafra was picked as the new president pro tempore.

Cinco-Remedio said she is not a doctor like Soon-Ruiz but she is confident she could handle the job.

“I am sure daghan man mi, makatabang gyud ni sila nako. I know I am not a doctor, but this position pwede ra gyud bisan kinsa, bisan dili pa ka doctor…. If you have the heart to serve pwede ra gyud ni nato tabangan,” she told colleagues during their session.

Meanwhile, Liga nga mga Barangay (LnP) president Dante Borbajo was elected as the new chairman of the Committee on Energy, while City Councilor Editha Flores-Cabahug now sits as the Committee on Agriculture chairman. — (FREEMAN)