Councilor laments ‘death’ of proposed resolutions

By Dolly Yasa

 

BACOLOD City – Councilor Wilson Gamboa, Jr., over the weekend, labelled as “Trapo-Politik” the way the Bacolod Sangguniang Panglunsod (SP) “killed” his three proposed resolutions which he considered critical in the management of increasing COVID-19 transmission hounding the City now.

Gamboa is the lone opposition councilor in the Bacolod SP.

He said these resolutions are:

-financial amelioration for those affected by this economic crisis;

-resolution favorably supporting the written appeal of Mayor Evelio Leonardia to the National Inter Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases to allow the local government of Bacolod to continue implementing its local health protocols on returning residents and;

-a call for transparency and accountability of funds from the national government.

Gamboa explained that all these three resolutions were challenged by trivial, petty, and “nit-picking” counterarguments by fellow councilors.

He said that in the September 10, 2020, regular SP session, he filed and argued for the passage of these three resolutions that would strengthen Bacolod City’s health systems’ preparedness and response through continued mandatory quarantine and swab tests protocols on returning residents.

He also supported the mayor’s appeal to the NIATF to allow Bacolod to continue implementing local health protocols.

The second resolution according to him is extremely critical because COVID-19 community transmission in Bacolod is traceable to incoming Locally Stranded Individuals (LSIs) and Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs).

“They may all be tested negative in Manila but we need to consider the incubation period and the infection positivity could appear at a later date,” he said.

Gamboa also explained that a colleague “nit-picked” on a provision of his resolution of support for the mayor by declaring the provision as misleading “when in truth and in fact, it was a verbatim quote of the Mayor’s appeal to the NIATF.”

He likewise said that his first resolution was supposed to be a financial amelioration by requesting public utilities (BACIWA, CENECO, SMART, and GLOBE) for a 60-day payment moratorium based on the “Bayanihan to Heal as One Act” (Bayanihan Act).

Another colleague, Gamboa said, nit-picked on a typographical error of this resolution but did not bother to read the entirety of the resolution that was drafted in response to a public outcry.

The fellow councilor’s counter-argument simply stated “that we leave it to the prerogative, authority and power of the Mayor being the representative of the City and to approve this will give the impression that we are overly subservient to the Mayor and that we do not know our jobs.”

“I can only laugh!” Gamboa said.

Gamboa noted that a colleague belonging to the majority filed a similar resolution and according to him, “Lo and behold, it was approved! Nevertheless, said colleague accepted me as her co-author.”

Gamboa’s third resolution was a manifestation for accountability, transparency and good governance, proper liquidation of Bacolod’s P119-million “Bayanihan Act Fund I.”

This was likewise “killed,” he said.