Council encroaching into power of mayor

CEBU, Philippines - Team Rama Councilor Jose Daluz III questioned last Wednesday the attempt of Bando-Osmeña Pundok Kauswagan (BOPK)-dominated council to take from the Mayor the power to appoint and hire city hall personnel.

Daluz said the council is encroaching on the power of the executive after restricting Mayor Michael Rama from replacing any of the 57 Job Order personnel assigned to the Department of Public Service and recently renewed.

He registered a protest when Committee on Budget and Finance chairman councilor Margarita Osmeña enumerated the names of the 57 JOs whose salaries will be charged to the amount that the council approved last Wednesday.

Osmeña said she listed and read the names aloud so it would be put on record and so they cannot be replaced.

“If the appointment of the job order should be the power of the council, I think the council is encroaching into the power of the executive,” Daluz said.

He said the power to appoint is with the mayor while the council’s job is only to approve the manpower request and the budgetary requirement.

“I’m reacting to the statement of the chairman that it cannot be changed because pananglitan napulo ana ni-abandon, or wala na manunga sa ilang trabaho, then ang atong project maguba because you cannot change them, (...if 10 of them abandon their jobs and don’t show up, our project will fail...)” Daluz said.

Osmeña said she enumerated the list of the names that is provided to her office by the DPS. “I name them because it was part of the request,” she said.

She said she does not think the council is over-ruling the power of the Mayor.

Vice Mayor Joy Augustus Young said the executive can go back to the council if any of the 57 names shall be replaced.

The same provision was added to the request for renewal of 12 JOs assigned at the Cebu City Zoo and 18 JOs of the Parks and Playgrounds Commission.

The council also amended the resolution from shortening by half a year the term of the contract of the JOs because the council fears they might be questioned for appointing JOs beyond the term of the Mayor.

The JOs’ contracts were renewed for January to June 2013 only. —MIT (FREEMAN)