BACOLOD City – Mayor Marvin Malacon of E.B. Magalona, Negros Occidental believes that he was “sabotaged.”
Malacon was referring to the Sangguniang Bayan’s (SB) failure to hold its regular session on April 24.
One of the session’s supposed agenda was Malacon’s request for a supplemental budget of P1.6 million to augment the P4-million budget of the five-day Ugyunan Festival this year.
The festival, now on its 29th year, started on April 27 and will end on May 1.
The SB failed to be in session due to the “absences” of four municipal council members – Vice Mayor Robert Acaling, councilors Anthony Marlon Magalona and Arnulfo Parcon, and Liga ng mga Barangay president Arthur Paez Sr – according to Malacon.
“The six remaining members of the council were not able to hold the session for not reaching quorum,” the mayor said.
Due to lack of additional budget, the festival organizers were forced to slash out some activities in the festival.
“I don’t know what their reason was that they did not attend the session,” said Malacon.
But Acaling said they were “not absent,” but are on official leave.
He added that he and the other three municipal council members filed their leave a week before the scheduledregular session.
Acaling even said Malacon cannot “deprive the rights of the councilors to take a leave.”
Acaling and Malacon have filed cases against each other before the Office of the Ombudsman in the past.
Panay News has yet to reach Magalona, Parcon and Paez for comment as of this writing./PN
