A “somersaulting ordinance”

When the late US President John F. Kennedy started to assemble the people who would constitute his cabinet, to help him run the government, he got nothing but the best and no one but the brightest. They were the men and women with impeccable academic backgrounds whose profound understanding of their society's needs was unassailable. David Halberstam, a highly respected writer in socio-political affairs, did not scrimp in his words in describing their immense talent. So, when history tells us the scores of successes Kennedy registered as president before Lee Harvey Oswald cut his term, the “best and the brightest” must have something to do with such dazzling report card.

I hope to label the members of the Cebu City Council using Halberstam's description - the “best and the brightest”. The Cebu City councilors may be hopelessly lazy because, as I wrote about their 2012 performance in this column few weeks back, they only produced 27 ordinances in the entire year (compared to the output of Mandaue City Council at 124 ordinances), but they could be imaginative enough to hammer on the anvil of local legislation ingenious statutes. Upon my review of their embarrassingly miniscule legislative production, I found out that they came up with a piece of local law that should be the envy of Donald Trump.

Yes, there is this ordinance that makes the city council an absolute ruler over the fate of the south reclamation project, called South Road Properties. The title of the ordinance speaks with unrestrained self-righteousness. Whoever said that it is difficult for you to be humble if you are brilliant must have our sanggunian in mind. I do take notice that in the title of the ordinance, our councilors hope to be declared as the protector of the SRP. In that hallowed posture, they assume the self-imposed obligation of shielding the SRP from unauthorized transactions and dealings.

In so many words, the council tells His Honor, Cebu City Mayor Michael L. Rama to stay away from the SRP. Any transaction or deal by Mayor Rama involving the SRP is, according to the ordinance, deemed unauthorized. By golly! The sanggunian has placed the effective administration of the reclaimed land beyond the office of the mayor. 

If the sitting mayor is prevented from exercising such an administrative prerogative as possibly offering to sell the SRP to any interested party, who then has such authority? To answer this question, we need to recall, for our guidance, the press releases issued by the alleged author prior to the passing of the ordinance. He was unequivocal. His words made it clear to us Cebuanos, the clear intent of the city council. The office armed such authority to transact the SRP would still be the mayor. But, all transactions over the reclaimed land should not be done by Mayor Rama. These have to await for the return of the former mayor.  In that regard that the somersaulting ordinance provides a legislative bypass over the mayor, our councilors approximated the minds of Kennedy's “best and brightest”.

Prior to this 2012 “somersaulting ordinance”, there was also a complementing enactment. I believe it still exists today. This ordinance passed by the “best and the brightest” of our city council that mandates that all proceeds of transactions over the SRP lots will be devoted for the development of the reclaimed land.

If Mr. Trump has the services of our councilors, he would have been the happiest non-owner of real estate. How come? Look at it this way. This billionaire should know that the city owns the SRP. The reclamation was paid out of the taxpayers' money. Even the poorest tax-paying city resident, living in the farthest barangay, contributed his few pesos to this project. Yet, he cannot expect a single centavo in return.  He cannot enjoy any benefit. The ordinance mandates that the billions of pesos that may be realized from the transactions of the SRP shall be thrown back to the SRP. Therefore, while Mr. Trump can see that this local law is very discriminatory to the Cebuanos, he can have the best and the brightest do whatever bidding he may wish to have. Tsk. Tsk. Tsk.