Vice Mayor Sara Duterte plays Kissinger in Davao City Council row

Sara plays cooler head; aborts dad’s ‘word war’

Davao City Vice Mayor Sara Duterte in yesterday’s city council session took the role of the proverbial cooler head, and aborted a potential verbal firework in wake of charges floor leader councilor Danilo Dayanghirang had gone to media to shame some members of the legislative body over their performance.

But Duterte’s act only came after city councilor Arnolfo Ricardo Cabling unleashed a strongly-worded privilege speech hitting Dayanghirang for media reports attributed to the floor leader that said his committee is saddled with pending legislative matters.

Councilor Bonifacio Militar, former floor leader, also lashed at Dayanghirang for a media report also quoting the floor leader as saying backlogs in the committee on rules, privileges and laws and ordinances, that he also chairs is loaded with legislative items passed on to him by Militar.

Dayanghirang took his post as floor leader, and as chair of the rules committee, three months ago after Militar resigned.

Sensing a looming verbal clash, Duterte stopped Dayanghirang from making a reaction, and allowed several councilors to deliver their pieces during the privilege hour.

When the speeches were finished, Duterte cut short the hour, and suggested the issue be discussed closed-door by councilors at lunch when the session takes a break at noon.

Earlier last week, Dayanghirang furnished city councilors local media his letter addressed to Duterte, with a list of pending legislative items in the committee on housing chaired by Cabling, the committee on energy, transportation and communication chaired by councilor Pilar Braga and the committee on finance of councilor Myrna Dalodo-Ortiz.

In the letter, the floor leader named the committees as having the most number of pending items.

In his privilege speech, Cabling rapped the floor leader for a news report, in another local daily that quoted Dayanghirang as telling councilors to speed up action on the pending items.

“I want Vice Mayor Duterte to be kept abreast of pending matters that needed to be addressed the soonest possible time. I am urging the chairmen to fast tract the process. The people will know of this eventually and we would not like them to think that we are not doing our job,” Dayanghirang was quoted as saying in the report.

Cabling in his speech questioned Dayanghirang’s motive in going to media with a statement that questioned his performance. He said his committee had no backlog.

Militar on the other hand lamented that his name would be dragged into a controversy that belittled his performance as former floor leader. He also faulted Dayanghirang for the media bashing.

Dayanghirang’s going to media is obviously with the intention to embarrass us, he said. He said he is banking on his record, “which speaks for itself.”

Braga earlier said Dayanghirang should not use her and the other city councilors to gain “pogi points” for himself. She also denied her committee had been sleeping on its job.