Zulueta schools Pesina on tax exemption ordinances
Only a week after she was stripped of her two pet committee chairmanships, Iloilo City Councilor Perla Zulueta is already showing everyone why her colleagues have erred in taking away from her the chairmanship of the Committee on Ways and Means. In last Wednesday's regular session of the Sangguniang Panlungsod, Zulueta succeeded in exposing how unprepared--and perhaps inept--his successor, Kagawad Antonio Pesina, is to take on the job.
One of the items in the agenda during the said session was the request of Stage One Co. Productions to exempt their presentation of the Jose Rizal masterpiece "Noli Me Tangere," to be staged from July 18 to 20, from the payment of amusement taxes. The said request, which was received by the Vice Mayor's Office more than a week earlier, was transmitted to Pesina's office only a couple of days prior to the session.
When the matter was brought to the floor for first reading, Majority Floorleader Eduardo Peñaredondo moved to refer it to the Committee on Ways and Means for study, report and recommendation.
It was then that Zulueta took the floor to remind the body that the staging of the presentation which is being sought for exemption from the payment of amusement tax was to start on that very same day, and that delaying action on the matter for another week may be one week too late.
When Pesina rose to sponsor an ordinance to exempt the said presentation from amusement tax, he was immediately reminded by Vice Mayor Jed Mabilog to first move for the suspension of the rules as to the number of readings, since three readings are required before an ordinance can be passed.
When he had done so and was already drafting his ordinance, he was asked by Zulueta to cite in the ordinance that specific provision of law that would justify the grant of exemption to the said presentation.
To give him time to scramble on his notes, the fiery lady legislator from Molo asked for a recess. Immediately, members of the administration bloc approached Pesina to help him locate in the Local Government Code that legal provision on the granting of Amusement Tax exemptions.
After being handed the book, Pesina asked for the resumption of the session, when again he started to mouth off his proposed ordinance. He, however, is visibly agitated, citing the ordinance's legal basis when he is only being asked of the ordinance's title.
A little while later, and realizing the futility of the whole exercise, Pesina relented and asked Peñaredondo to just refer the matter to the ways and means committee, deferring action for the next regular session on July 25.
Reached for comment immediately after the session, Zulueta said she merely wanted to remind everyone to observe the rules when she asked Pesina to cite the appropriate legal basis for the passage of the said ordinance.
"Ang akon, ang insakto lang [I only want them to do what is right]. They shouldn't shortcut the process. I'm sure the people of the city of Iloilo don't want their councilors coming to the session unprepared," said the acknowledged "Iron Lady of the City Council."
"I sincerely hope they won't try to pull off that same stunt again in the future. They should always be prepared. They just can't prepare for the session a mere 15 minutes before it starts," said Zulueta in conclusion.