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UP VANGUARD FRATERNITY
Councilors drop ax on absentee brgy official
For two years, a kagawad of Brgy. Benedicto in the district of Jaro has failed to attend a single session of the barangay council and yet his colleagues in the council are hesitant to drop him for fear they would be hailed to court. Iloilo City councilor Perla Zulueta, however, thinks otherwise.
'Their fear of being hailed to court is definitely unfounded. Sometimes, I find it funny that they can't drop him from the rolls when he has been absent in all sessions of the council for two years now. Apparently, he has a job and has been unable to attend the sessions of the barangay council on the schedule agreed on by the members. In my opinion, he should have been dismissed as councilman a long time ago,' said the lady councilor, who expressed some irritation over the issue after learning that Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas has written the Sangguniang Panlungsod asking its Committee on Barangay Affairs to resolve the complaint brought to his attention by Benedicto Brgy. Capt. Abelario Salting, Jr. regarding its errant Brgy. Kagawad Emiliano Akol.
It was learned Zulueta, who is vice-chairman of the SP Committee on Barangay Affairs chaired by ex-officio Sangguniang Panlungsod member Marietta Orleans, has already talked with Brgy. Benedicto officials in her office some two weeks ago, where they have already advised them on what to do regarding Akol's case. Also present during the said meeting was SP Committee on Legal Affairs head Councilor Eduardo Peñaredondo, who also agreed that Akol's immediate dismissal could be justified.
'That is why I was surprised to learn that they have written the mayor, who in turn endorsed to us their complaint. Actually, there's nothing to debate on since Akol has not been getting his honoraria or any stipend from the barangay since he started failing to attend the council's session some two years ago,' said the veteran legislator, who earned the moniker 'Iron Lady of the City Council' for her no-nonsense stance against graft and corruption in the city government.