Views on Moratorium in Canlubang:
According to the Mayor, Vice Mayor and the Sanggunian Panlungsod
The resolution regarding the “Moratorium on Further Development in Barangay Canlubang” was deemed “invalid” by the Office of the City Mayor based on the review forwarded by the City Legal Officer Bishop/ Atty. Fernando Alonzo, D.D. dated 22nd of June 2009. It was cited in the review during the Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) session on 8th of September, Tuesday, that the resolution was “immature” since its formal passing to the Office of the City Mayor was delayed. The discussion on the resolution and the review done by the City Legal Officer with a letter from the Office of the City Mayor was presented to the SP in lieu with the underlying opinion and standpoint of SP regarding the matter.
Furthermore, it was contested in the letter attached with the review that the resolution has failed to answer the six (6) substantive requirements for the resolution to be considered valid coming to the point that there will be no reason for the executive veto power to enact on the part of Mayor Joaquin Chipeco Jr. The executive veto power is the right of the head to stop unilaterally without any adoption a piece of legislation. The veto message, which will be coming solely from Mayor Chipeco in this case, will be in full execution if and only if the resolution will be passed upon the substantive requirements of the resolution.
During the formal discussion about the resolution which was presented to the entire SP, different opinions surfaced as they review the forwarded message of the City Mayor with the attached paper from the City Legal Officer. According to Coun. Ruth Mariano- Hernandez, there is no reason for the veto power to be exercised by Mayor Chipeco since the resolution was invalidated under the substantive requirements given for the resolution to be passed. Furthermore, she argued, “reading between the lines, marahil ipinapaunawa ng Kgg. Punonglunsod na ang ating resolusyon ay invalid… quoting him (Mayor Chipeco) that the resolution can therefore be viewed as arbitrary, ambiguous, oppressive and confiscatory in essence.” In addition to Coun. Mariano-Hernandez’s standpoint, she also cited that it is clear the City Mayor reacted on the resolution and it can be assumed that the resolution is “invalid” even though it was not expressly stated as to which standpoint he belongs.
To Coun. Dennis R. Lanzanas, the message coming from Mayor Chipeco is not an expression of veto power but instead a message conveying the shortcomings of the SP in passing a resolution. It surfaced during the session, through Coun. Eduardo R. Silva, the queries on the acceptance and approval of the pending applications of the developers. For Coun. Christian Niño S. Lajara, it is not clear as to who will determine the validity or invalidity of the resolution since the City Mayor and the Court are the two major determinants of validity. Coun. Luis Vergel G. Baroro, on the other hand, would like to request an immediate reply on the part of the City Mayor to pass down his reply through a veto message because it is long been overdue and to avoid further presumptions.
The petition coming from the tillers of Canlubang was read by Coun. Christian Niño S. Lajara, and further emphasized the limitations of power of the SP to control, amend, and ensure the welfare of the people through the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law, Local Zoning Ordinance, and most especially the Local Government Code. At this point, the assembly requested the Presiding Officer to give a reaction regarding the matter.
For Vice Mayor Atty. Pursino C. Oruga, the SP cannot act accordingly and cannot be override because the veto message is not yet lifted from the City Mayor. In addition, all the pending applications of the developers for a development permit will remain hanging until an expressed veto from the City Mayor is lifted. Furthermore, he pointed out that even though the SP were already tasked to identify lands as agricultural and to provide appropriate ordinances, the chairman of the Land Use Plan has a rightful task about it, with the recommending approval of both the National Housing Authority (NHA) and Housing and Land Use Rehabilitation Board (HLURB) to reclassify land as agricultural. As of today, the Vice Mayor cannot endorse any actions since it will be cited as an abuse of authority on his part until a veto message is lifted for the process to continue. Until today, the SP is trying to compromise the formal submission of the veto message of Mayor Chipeco with regards the resolution.—JM JOSE
