Peñaredondo denies rift among administration councilors
Even before the new set of elected Sangguniang Panlungsod assumed their respective committee chairmanships, reports on the alleged division among the members of the administration group is brewing. This after one opposition councilor is likely to retain her chairmanship in the committee she currently holds despite an earlier report that those from the opposition should not be given committee chairmanships.
Mayor Jerry Treñas allegedly asked the majority members of the city council to retain Councilor Perla Zulueta as chair of committee on ways and means. This development is completely opposite with what Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez, Sr. announced earlier.
In some media interviews, Gonzalez announced that the members of the opposition at the city council will not get any chairmanship.
Councilor Eduardo Peñaredondo, however, denied the reported rift among the administration councilors. He said the chief executive did not ask the council to retain Zulueta on her chairmanship, though he has been appreciative of the former's performance as the chair of the committee on ways and means.
He also said the Secretary himself, as chair of the administration party has not instructed them not to give the chairmanship to Zulueta.
"In fairness to the Secretary, he has not given such instruction or any request to the members of the city council on who they are going to select as chair of the committee on ways and means," Peñaredondo said.
The committee on ways means is one of the important committees in the Sangguniang Panlungsod aside from the committee on appropriations. There are 27 committees at the Sangguniang Panlungsod.
He said nobody from the majority group wants to act as chair of the committee on ways and means. Even Councilor Jeffrey Ganzon deferred his intention for the said committee. "He has already surrendered his ambition."
The councilors themselves also observe the "equity of the incumbent," which means Zulueta still hold her chairmanship. Zulueta has been very helpful to the council and she is also teaching neophyte councilors of the "ins and outs" in the committee on ways and means, said Peñaredondo.