SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga – Defying Gov. Eddie Panlilio, Vice Gov. Joseller Guiao signed yesterday a resolution overriding the governor’s veto of Ordinance 176 scrapping the provincial government’s P150 share from the P300 tax imposed on each truckload of lahar sand quarried in this province.
“I signed it because the resolution upholds the law which has been warped during the term of the Lapids,” Guiao told The STAR.
Panlilio, insisting that the ordinance violated both the Constitution and the Local Government Code, vowed to finally scrap the ordinance through a “people’s initiative.”
The provincial board, presided over by Guiao, passed the ordinance last Sept. 21, but Panlilio vetoed it last week.
Under the law, the governor can veto any ordinance passed by the provincial board, although the latter could override the veto by a majority vote.
The issue over the quarry ordinance is expected to further widen the gap between Panlilio and the provincial board, following earlier conflicts on the governor’s appointments of Vivien Dabu as provincial administrator and Aiza Velez as provincial attorney, among other differences.
“I would like to consider the possibility of reconciliation but he (Panlilio) has been doing things that tend to isolate himself” from the provincial board, the local media, the mayors, and “very recently the President,” Guiao said.
Guiao was referring to Panlilio’s exposé on the P500,000 he allegedly received from Malacañang during a meeting with other governors last Oct. 11.
Guiao said he supports the advice of Pampanga mayors for Panlilio to use the funds for projects to benefit his constituents.
The other day, Guiao led members of the Pampanga Mayors’ League and other local officials in a visit to Malacañang to present a manifesto expressing their “unequivocal and unquestionable loyalty and support” to the administration of President Arroyo, a cabalen. – With Ric Sapnu