I remember that in 2016, when the BOPK, the group of former Mayor Tomas Osmeña, was in control of the Sanggunian Panlungsod, the numerically dominant councilors acted like the establishment in The Adventurers. “Numbers rule”, they harangued.
They did not hide shouting “to the victors belong the spoils”. What spoils are we talking about? Out of their numerical superiority, they denied the councilors belonging to the opposition chairmanships and memberships of the different committees of the city council. No matter how sanggunian members (of Team Rama) howled, their arguments, grounded on sound democratic principles and on known concepts of ideal governance, fell on it responsive and deaf ears.
To my mind, the seclusionary act was not democratic. The BOPK leadership was, to word it most kindly, politically incorrect. I felt personally saddened that they showed a despicable arrogance of power and they wielded their mighty position in utter disregard of fairness. Denying the Team Rama councilors of committee participations was, in my ordinary man’s mind, an act of greed for power. They forgot that the councilors belonging to the then Team Rama, were also chosen by the people.
In acceptable theory, vox populi, vox Dei. In practical consideration, we have to accept that councilors are local legislators. Among the more direct involvement of sanggunian members in their role as local legislators is to understand how each of the arms of the city government can deliver basic services. Memberships in committees should provide access to information needed in crafting relevant ordinances.
The scene reprised during the inaugural session of the Cebu City Sanggunian Panlungsod last Tuesday. Aware of the developing numbers of members of the BOPK on one hand and the Partido Barug/PDP Laban on the other hand, I attended the first session.
The idealist in me thought and hoped to see our councilors behave more like statesmen than power hungry politicians. Among my expectations was a distribution of the various committees in the sanggunian among all councilors. I, of course, imagined that political affiliations may still be considered. Major committees should be chaired by councilors allied to Mayor Edgardo Labella. But I expected that sanggunian members belonging to the decimated opposition be given the chance to head certain committees.
I must still be naive to the ways of politics because what I witnessed was not what I hoped for. The sanggunian committees were given only to councilors of the administration. The shutout of the opposition was not unlike the undemocratic wielding of political powers shown by BOPK in 2016. I can only suspect Mayor Labella to have a hand in it. History, the ugly side of it, repeated itself.