Carillo seeks dismissal of case vs VM, council

CEBU, Philippines - Cebu City Councilor Gerardo Carillo is asking the Regional Trial Court-Branch 23 to dismiss the declaratory relief filed by a taxpayer against members of the City Council for lack of merit.

Carillo said Romulo Torres, who sued members of the City Council and Vice Mayor Edgardo Labella, has no legal standing to sue the city officials.

Torres asked the court to stop the city government from using the proceeds from the sale of lots at the South Road Properties. The city government has collected over P8.5 billion from the sale of the 45.2-hectare area at the SRP.

Torres said the resolution passed by the City Council which authorized Mayor Michael Rama to dispose of the property at the SRP has violated City Ordinance 2332, “an ordinance protecting the South Road Properties and its stakeholders from unlawful and unauthorized transactions and dealings.”

Torres filed the complaint in his capacity as a taxpayer.

In his answer affidavit, Carillo said there are two distinct cases that a taxpayer suit would prevail.

Citing a Supreme Court ruling, Carillo said the two requisites for a taxpayer’s suit to prosper are: public funds (in question) derived from taxation are disbursed by a political subdivision or instrumentality and in doing so, a law is violated or some irregularity is committed; and if the complainant is directly affected by the alleged act.

Further, Carillo said in the case of Mamba vs. Lara, G.R. No. 165109, December 2009, a person suing as a taxpayer “must show that the act complained of directly involves the illegal disbursement of public funds derived from taxation.”

The taxpayer “must also prove that he has sufficient interest in preventing the illegal expenditure of money raised by taxation and that he will sustain a direct injury because of the enforcement of the questioned statute or contract.”

“In the present controversy, the funds being questioned were derived from the sale of public property and were not derived from taxation. Furthermore, the petitioner has not shown that he stands to be directly injured or affected by the disbursement of the funds exclusively derived from sources other than taxation,” Carillo said.

Further, Carillo asserted that the resolution of the Cebu City Council authorizing the mayor to dispose of the lot did not violate the city ordinance, as claimed by Torres.

Carillo said City Ordinance 2332 only declares that the “preferred” mode of disposing the SRP lots is through unsolicited proposal.

He said the resolution is in accord of the City Ordinance, and not a violation.

Carillo is asking other members of the City Council to adopt his answer affidavit.

In the recent September 30 regular session of the Cebu City Council, it deferred the approval of the P2.8 billion supplemental budget for this year.

The deferment would yet again stall the budget to fund services like the P87 million for the garbage tipping fee, P77 million productivity enhancement incentives to employees, P2.3 billion prepayment of the South Road Property loan, among others.

“I will plea other members of the City Council to pass the budget ordinance so that basic services like the garbage collection would not be stalled. We should not intercede politics through government service,” Carillo said.

The Cebu City Legal Office just received the official copy of the complaint yesterday. It will prepare for the answer-affidavit of all members of the City Council who cannot present their own affidavit.  (FREEMAN)