BACOLOD City – Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran and six Sangguniang Panlungsod members defended their trip to Long Beach, California.
In light of the speculation that they lacked a travel order – which came on the heels of their absence during a recent city council session – the seven officials insisted that their trip is “legal and aboveboard.”
Councilor Ricardo Tan criticized the lack of quorum during the city council session on Wednesday, claiming that public interest has been jeopardized.
Aside from Tan, who was acting vice mayor, only councilors Sonya Verdeflor, Wilson Gamboa Jr., Jesus Claudio Puentevella, and Ana Marie Palermo, and Sangguniang Kabataan Federation president Ayesha Villaflor were present.
Councilors Caesar Distrito, Em Ang, Cindy Rojas, Renecito Novero, Dindo Ramos, and Bartolome Orola went to California for a 16-day official trip.
They have been in Long Beach since July 19 for a tourism and trade mission, which includes witnessing a version of MassKara Festival there, and were thus absent from the Wednesday’s session.
Bacolod and Long Beach, California are sister cities.
“Our trip is legal and aboveboard,” Familiaran and the six councilors said in a joint statement.
“It has a valid Travel Authority from the Mayor (Evelio Leonardia) and the Vice Mayor, and was duly approved as an Official Travel by the Department of the Interior and Local Government through Undersecretary Austere Panadero,” they said. “But others filed their Leave of Absence with Authority to Travel as required by law.”
According to the officials who went to California, the 14-member Sangguniang Panlungsod could still have had a quorum (half of their total number plus one) given that eight members were left behind.
But Elmer Sy was on sick leave while Noli Villarosa was on vacation leave.
“There was enough number of councilors (left) to constitute a quorum,” the travelling officials said. “[But] if one or two of them are also absent, that is already beyond our control.”
The acting vice mayor should know what to do to make sure a session happens, the travelling officials pointed out.
“If they don’t know how to perform their duties, it is not our problem anymore,” they added./PN
