A wacky session day at the City Council
The regular session of the Sangguniang Panlungsod last Wednesday showed a picture of a chaotic and disorganized system inside the session hall even as councilors are about to subject themselves into a reelection in the 2007 May elections.
The session last Wednesday was stalled for a few minutes after several councilors failed to enter the session hall at the time the session starts. During the roll call, only seven councilors where present and six were still out though some of their things were already inside the session hall.
When Councilor Jed Mabilog, the presiding officer, banged the gavel to signal the start of the session, only Councilors Perla Zulueta, Jose Espinosa III, Julienne Baronda, Merci Garcia, Marietta Orleans, Armand Parcon and Ely Estante were inside the session hall. It needs eight councilors to have a quorum.
The security officer had to call Councilors Jeffrey Ganzon, Ramon Cua-Locsin, Erlinda Liberiaga, Erwin Plagata and Majority Floor Leader Eduardo Peñaredondo to enter the session hall as there was no quorum. Councilor Stevie Rey Abitang was absent in last Wednesday's session.
Eventually, the session began when Ganzon, Cua-Locsin, Liberiaga, Plagata and Peñaredondo joined their colleagues. Only to find out that Cua-Locsin was all along sleeping inside the session hall though the discussions on the letter sent by Ambeth Ocampo, chairman of the National Historical Institute to the council regarding the renaming of schools was heating up.
It was Councilor Zulueta who stood and asked her colleagues to tone down their voices as Cua-Locsin was having a good sleep inside the session hall. This elicited laughter from the councilors and those present in the session. GMA television's Ratsada team was able to take video footage on Cua-Locsin sleeping inside the session hall. Locsin was awakened by a roar of laughter in the hall.
The disturbance inside the session hall continued when the cellular phone of Councilor Garcia rang while she was presenting his committee report on the letter of endorsement of Mayor Jerry Treñas on the letter of former Mina Mayor Lydia Grabato requesting to name a street in honor of Lucrecia Urtula.
Councilor Baronda had to get Garcia's cellular phone and turned it off. Cellphones are supposed to be in silent mode while they are inside the session hall. It has been observed that some of the councilors do not bother to observe ethical conduct during the session. They are talking on their mobile phones while the session is on going.