By HERBIE GOMEZ, Editor in chief,
and NITZ ARANCON, Correspondent
MISAMIS Oriental provincial board member Dexter Yasay yesterday threatened to press administrative and criminal charges against Vice Gov. Jeremy Jonahmar “Jigjag” Pelaez, provincial secretary Ernesto Sotto and at least six others over what he said were unexplained absences of legislative staff members.
Yasay’s threat came three days after he and Pelaez figured in a heated argument over moves to replace Sotto with a temporary secretary, and a day after provincial board members and the vice governor traded barbs—and insults—in the session hall again over the latter’s recent memoranda.
Yasay told the Gold Star Daily that Pelaez has been turning a blind eye to the absences of Sotto and at least six other workers in the Office of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan.
He said he found out that the employees’ names were not in the logbook yet they had daily time record (DTR) entries.
“What is the basis for the DTR entry? They were exempted in the biometric registration but nowhere [does] it say that they should not be present in their working station,” he said. “I am preparing to file charges, administrative and criminal.”
At the capitol, the rule is that those exempted from biometric registration are supposed to sign logbooks, and then these become the bases for their DTRs. The DTRs are then crosschecked vis-à-vis the logbooks.
As for Sotto, Yasay alleged that “for three years, wala mag-submit ang (provincial secretary) ug DTR...”
Yasay alleged that Pelaez signed the documents.
The threat of a lawsuit and tension in the seat of Misamis Oriental’s legislative body, however, have more to it than meets the eye. The recent verbal tussles during its regular sessions and other meetings, sometimes over what appeared to be bordering on pettiness, have underlying causes.
Provincial board member Gerardo Sabal III said the disagreements were a result of growing resentment over Pelaez’s penchant for making decisions on his own.
Take the case of a string of memoranda Pelaez recently issued. Sabal said one memo was aimed at preventing provincial board members from presenting motions during their privilege speeches.
“Mipirma siya sa usa ka memorandum nga dili puwede mopasa og ordinansa o resolution during the privilege hour. Unya na-a sa among internal rules, exception kana... nga puwede ang resolution og ordinansa. So, which is which? Asa man ang consistency ani?” Sabal asked rhetorically.
On Wednesday, Pelaez said the memorandum that Sabal questioned was based on the Local Government Code of 1991.
“Tanan rules and procedures nga gihimo sa Sangguniang Panlalawigan, dili maka-over and above sa implementing rules and regulations sa Local Government Code,” Pelaez retorted.
The problem, according to Pelaez, is that Sabal, Yasay and other members of the provincial board’s majority were imposing on him.
“Ang ilang huna-huna man gud nga silay magbo-ot ba, dili ang vice governor. Ang ilang huna-huna nga tungod kay majority sila, kon unsay ilang gustong buhaton, maoy matuman, nga before ko maghimo sa memorandum, murag ilang bu-ot pasabot nga silay mosugo nako, nga mao ning buhata,” Pelaez said.
But Sabal and Yasay said Pelaez was “misinterpreting” and “misapplying” provisions of the Local Government Code to his advantage.
Case in point: Sabal said there is no provision in the Code that explicitly provides that local legislators are not allowed to present motions as offshoots of their privilege speeches.
Sabal said a clause in the Local Government Code provides that a local legislative body can formulate its own set of internal rules “for as long as it is approved by the majority of its members.”
He added: “We just want that to be followed... Why is he not following what was agreed upon by everybody?
Sabal said the tension in the provincial board during a meeting on Wednesday could have been avoided if only Pelaez’s leadership was consultative.
“He makes decisions on his own. If that is the case, then let’s not have a Sangguniang Panalalawigan anymore. Why should we meet if he can make all the decisions for everyone?” a complaining Yasay asked rhetorically.
Yasay said he questioned another Pelaez memorandum that requires all those who wish to get inside the provincial board identification cards and to follow a dress code.
During the Wednesday meeting, Pelaez said the memo was aimed at maintaining decency and respectability in the provincial board. He said it was also a security measure during provincial board sessions, committee meetings or hearings.
Based on Pelaez’s memo, people wearing short pants and sleeveless undershirts are barred from entering the session hall.
Pelaez said the memo applies to guests, journalists, and even capitol employees “so that we can identify who is coming in and coming out.”
Yasay frowned over the memo, saying the provincial board should be open to anyone who wishes to come in. He also questioned a clause in the memo that provides that only authorized capitol employees are allowed to attend the provincial board’s sessions and committee meetings, and should they insist, they should register first.
Yasay said the memo was an insult to people who cannot afford to dress up based on Pelaez’s standards. ”Ti-aw mo nang naka-prescribe ang attire. Dawbi’g dili maka-afford ang usa aka tawo? Dili lugar siya puwede mag-apil.”
Pelaez, however, maintained that there was nothing wrong with the new rules that he set.
But during the Wednesday meeting, provincial board member Nancy Madjos protested. She said, ”Aron duna
tay kalinaw dinhi, vice gov, mo-hear sab unta ka. What are our internal rules for? Naghimo baya ta’g internal rules to govern our sessions. Maghimo-himo man sab ka noon og imo. May pag magla-in ka’g session nga ikaw lang. Mora na man hinu-on nga gihimo mi nimo’g mga under. Lain man gud paminawon. Imagine, a vice governor naghimog memorandum sa amoa. Unsa mi mga bata? Dili man na maayo kay the more nga nag-create ta dinhi og kagobot.”
Pelaez responded: ”Nganong mala-in man mo ana? Unsa may problema?”
Madjos snapped: ”Na, mora tag buang-buang ani, mora mi’g way bo-ot!”
Pelaez replied: ”Aw, dili man sad siguro. Depende na na sa imong pagsabot.” He then asked Madjos not to use words like “way buot” and “buang-buang” in the session hall.
Yasay, for his part, called Pelaez’s memoranda “null and void” and products of a “one-man rule” in the provincial board.
Pelaez responded to Yasay: “That’s your right not to respect that (memo), and that is your opinion but we follow the rule of law.”
Pelaez would later lose his cool and raise his voice when Yasay cut in while he was speaking. ”Ay’sa, kay nag-estorya pa! Nag-estorya ka kaganina, wala baya ka gitubag-tubag diha! Mao lagi nang nakada-ot ninyo, way morespeto!”
For the second time this week, Pelaez and the provincial board members failed to reach an agreement.
