EDITORIAL - The better question to ask
This story has long been going around — that third term Cebu City councilor Jun Pe, who is from the north district, will take up residence in the south to earn therequirement that would allow him to run for councilor again in that district.
With the exception of the president, the vice president and senators, all other elective officials are only allowed three consecutive terms of three years each. Councilor Pe falls under this category.
Obviously, councilor Pe wants to remain a councilor. But being on his third term, he is barred from running for the same position. Most people, lawyers and non-lawyers alike, see the law on term limits very clearly up to that point.
But councilor Pe, or whoever bright boy whispered the idea to him, is willing to try a new tack — run for councilor in another district. Again, the law on term limits is clear. It defines the position, not from where the bid for such position is launched.
Still, what councilor Pe intends to do has never been done before. And as they say, the law has not been tested along this line. In fact, the law is silent on this one precisely because it has not been foreseen that some bright boy would actually see the light in this manner.
The problem is that the law could not be tested right away. We will never know the answer until councilor Pe actually files a certificate of candidacy for councilor in the south district. Thus everything that will be said until then will be speculation and conjecture.
One thing can be safely said about the matter though, because it is something outside what needs to be legally qualified, but is just as, if not more, important — and it is whether or not the City of Cebu, whether north or south, deserves yet another term from councilor Pe.
The way we see it, the willingness of councilor Pe to go to great lengths to remain in the city council only speaks of his own personal interests. The better question to ask is whether or not Cebu City residents, whether from the north or south, deserve an extended term from him.
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