The inutility of “urging resolutions”

On a wall of the library of the University of the Visayas there was hung a frame containing a Francis Bacon quote. I was then a third year high school, 1965, when I first read it but Bacon’s words “Reading maketh a full man; conference a ready man; and writing an exact man” continue to elicit smiles in me, each time I meet relevant situations. There are three parts of the Bacon quotation. Reading is the first, conference, the second and the third portion is on writing. It is actually the “reading” part of his saying that I more recollect when i had the chance of pouring over yesterday’s Agenda of the Cebu City Sangguniang Panlungsod.

In yesterday’s City Council session, there were 78 items listed under the column Proposed Resolutions and Ordinances. An ordinance is a local law usually regulating persons or property of a general nature. It is permanent until modified or repealed. Writing an ordinance is the main job of a councilor although debating on it tests both the mind of its author and the quality of its usefulness. Yesterday, there were three proposed ordinances under consideration. Repeat, only 3 of the 78 items. Two of such measures were authored by Hon. Joel Garganera (co-sponsored by Hon. Donaldo Hontiveros and Hon. Pastor Alcover Jr in one) and the third had Hon Noel Wenceslao as the sponsor.

A resolution, to contrast it to an ordinance, expresses a passing sentiment of the council. Generally, it commonly deals with matters of special or temporary character and denotes something less solemn or formal and that is why it does not have the dignity nor permanence of an ordinance.

Our City Council tackled 31 resolutions of the kind that does not approximate much less reflect the prominence of the Cebuano mind, in general and of past councilors in particular. I am saddened to notice that the resolutions, written by our distinguished councilors and were included in yesterday’s sanggunian session, did not contain the profundity that could be a source of Cebuano pride. They lacked the acknowledged wisdom and brilliant foresights of Pablo Abella, Roland Duterte, Suga Sotto-Yuvienco and Vicente Kintanar Jr., to name few our outstanding former councilors such that those proposed resolutions did not generate any exchange of scholarly discussions.

To be specific, let me take as a sample a proposed resolution “to urge (a certain city department but I choose not to name it) to study the possibility of xxx.” I call this as an “URGING RESOLUTION.” I can say, without fear of contradiction, that the author, a professional, can write something much more substantively profound than this “urging resolution.” By the way, there were 12 such urging resolutions yesterday. If the dictionary defines to urge as “to try earnestly or persistently to persuade (someone) to do something”, is this the work of the city council? That means that in the mind of the author, the department which he urged to do something, did not do what it was supposed to do. Yet, what did the councilor urge the particular department to do? The councilor asked the department “TO STUDY THE POSSIBILITY OF xxx.” To study “the possibility?”

How will the leadership of that department view this “urging”? A humble department head will bow his head and heed the urge to “study the possibility of” something. There will be myriad of things to examine. What happens if, in his study, what is “urged” by the council resolution is not possible? Can he report to the council that what is urged upon him “to study the possibility of” is not, per his study, possible? Then what?