Letter
A POLITICAL opposition is an important element in democracy. Opposition strikes to balance the ruling party.
According to French philosopher and political scientist Raymond Aron, “democracies are systems in which the peaceful rivalry for exercise of power exists constitutionally.”
The functions of the opposition include counterweight, offers political alternatives, and improves decision-making by ensuring debate.
In Cagayan de Oro City, we have witnessed the clashing of the executive and legislative departments over several policy issues.
We remember the “Babag” 17th City Council under vice mayor Ian Acenas. This council held hostage the budget for several beneficial and landmark programs of Mayor Oscar Moreno. History will remember this council as “obstructionist” to the development of the city. While presided by Acenas, the main protagonist was the then councilor Prexy Elipe who was later on found guilty of serious dishonesty and falsification of public documents and meted the penalty of perpetual disqualification from holding public office by the ombudsman.
The Cagayanons have spoken in the May 2016 elections. Candidates of the Padayon Pilipino led by Dongkoy Emano suffered a stinging defeat. Nadya Emano-Elipe, wife of Prexy and daughter of Dongkoy however survived along with lawyer Leon Gan. The remnants of the obstructionist cult have been reduced to a noisy minority — most of the time for the wrong reasons. Other members of Padayon who won were Ian Nacaya, Inday Dahino, Suzette Magtajas-Daba and Annie Daba. They saw the light and and expressed support for Mayor Moreno
Take for example the grandstanding of Nadya Emano-Elipe when she questioned the decision of Mayor Moreno to expand the Local School Board in a special report on Oct. 10, 2016. It would worthy to remember this as Mayor Moreno has been vindicated when the city was awarded with Seal of Good Education Governance by the Synergia Foundation, in partnership with the Department of Education, PLDT and Smart Communications Inc., and supported by Usaid.
It is now clear that Councilor Emano-Elipe is anti-development and anti-education. The LSB is a special body created by virtue of Republic Act 7160, or the Local Government Code of 1991. Its main duty is to allocate Special Education Funds to meet the supplementary needs of the local public school system. The SEF is an additional one-percent levy that is collected together with real property taxes paid to the local government.
Councilor Elipe questioned why Mayor Moreno added several non-government organizations to compose the LSB. She argued that what is not included is deemed excluded, citing the LGC which states that the local school board shall be composed of eight members.
The present LSB under Mayor Moreno’s baton has 21 members coming from civil society organizations like the Balay Mindanaw Foundation, Cagayan de Oro Chamber of Commerce and Industry, interfaith sector and youth sector.
But Mayor Moreno argued that it is elementary in law that what is not prohibited is allowed.
Mayor Moreno added that he used the version of late Interior Secretary Jessie Robredo which has been cited in the Galing Pook Award. He stressed that the minority in the city council does not want him to build more classrooms and to level up the education system in the city.
According to Usaid, Cagayan de Oro City demonstrated a commitment to improving education governance. All nominees for the Seal of Good Education Governance were assessed on a transparent criteria, including the effective and efficient use of the Special Education Fund, community involvement in identifying education priorities, and an increase in student learning outcomes.
Nadya Emano-Elipe must remember that there are enough legal provisions that actually support greater local government involvement in public education. Unfortunately, that is way beyond her conventional mind.
With the expansion of the membership of the local school board, it brings local communities and key players in the public school system in discussing the state of local education which can be the basis for positive and informed collective action.
Nadya Emano-Elipe must know that broad LSB composition serves as entry points for greater and more meaningful stakeholders participation in the delivery of public education services.
Regular grassroots consultation makes not only good politics but an avenue for multi-level assessment.
Nadya Emano-Elipe’s lack of appreciation to people’s participation is clearly inherited from her father, Dongkoy. During her father’s watch as mayor for 12 years and vice mayor for three years, there was less participation from non-government and civic groups. They have not built a single classroom from the SEF.
Dongkoy not only mismanaged the city for that long but has reduced the people to patrons of their dirty politics and insatiable greed for power.
It is a pity that the lady councilor, a lawyer, cannot can’t rise up to the dark shadows of her father. –Remy Cagape-Dabatian Labiano, staff member in the office of Councilor Ian Mark Nacaya
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