Zulueta slams Gonzalez's 'order' not to give chairmanships to opposition councilors
They may have survived every dirty trick in the book employed by acting Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez, Sr. to keep them out of the winning circle in the just-concluded May 14 elections but Iloilo City councilor Perla Zulueta and councilor-elect Nielex Tupas aren't out of the woods yet. Gonzalez's vengeful nature is such that he would stop at nothing to ensure life's a little more difficult for those who don't bow down to his every wish and whim.
Only recently, Zulueta and Tupas received information from a well-placed source that Gonzalez, in a meeting attended by members of his group here, reportedly ordered the winning councilors from their side--who controls the incoming Sangguniang Panlungsod 11 to 3--not to give opposition councilors committee chairmanships in the next council.
Such a move, if carried out by Gonzalez's lieutenants in the city legislature, would strip Zulueta of her chairmanships of the committees on ways and means and public services, environmental protection and ecology.
The said order came in the heels of reports that Gonzalez scolded barangay captains in the city in a separate meeting recently for their supposed failure to keep the lady councilor from Molo and the governor's son from winning in the May 14 polls. Humiliated no end by the two's victory, he then instructed city councilors allied to him to deprive the two of committee chairmanships to minimize their influence in the incoming council.
Playing lead
Sought for comment on the issue, Zulueta simply shrugged off the said report, saying she is leaving the matter to the wise judgment of the senior members of the Sanggunian.
"Realistically speaking, they can do that because they have the numbers, although traditionally every member gets to have two committee chairmanships. If they would exclude Lex (Tupas) and me from holding committee chairmanships, some of them could end up heading three committees, which would then violate the Sanggunian Rules of Procedure," said Zulueta, dubbed the "Iron Lady of the City Council" for her no-nonsense stand against graft and corruption.
"Now, in the event that I am stripped of my committee chairmanships, I would refuse to accept vice-chairmanships or memberships of any committee. Let them do all the work," she quipped.
Asked why, Zulueta simply said: "I play the lead, I don't play second fiddle."
Reports that the administration bloc is looking to strip Zulueta of her committees came out recently after Kagawad Jeffrey Ganzon made public his interest to replace the former as chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means, even going to the extent of concocting issues to put her in bad light. This led to a heated exchange of words between the two, prompting other city officials to mediate between the warring members of the council.
Councilor-elect Eldrid Antiquiera, meanwhile, is reportedly interested in the chairmanship of the Committee on Public Services, Environmental Protection and Ecology.
Opposed
Meanwhile, if the said reports are true, recent information say Gonzalez may find it hard to sell the idea to several long-time members of the Sanggunian, most particularly Erwin Plagata, Eduardo Peñaredondo, and Jose Espinosa III, who were reported to be opposed to the plan.
"Being on their third and final term, Plagata and Peñaredondo may not be the most eager to abide by Gonzalez's every command. Unlike the other members of their group, who are dependent on the money and machinery of the Gonzalezes to continue winning elections, these two senior councilors are most likely to do what they think is right," a City Hall observer opined.
"As for Espinosa, everybody knows his stand would most likely reflect that of Treñas, who considers Zulueta a big help to his administration despite the latter being from the opposition side. Of course, it need not be said that the 'graduating' Treñas is expected to clash with the DOJ chief's son for the city's lone congressional seat in the 2010 elections, which may well explain if the mayor would be acting independently of the Gonzalezes from henceforth," the same observer enthused.