Davao City Council leadership questioned anew

SP non-lawyer floor leader under fire

Members of the Davao City Council are again questioning the capability of its floor leader, who is being accused of “cornering” legislative items to prop up his performance ratings.

Two former floor leaders of the City Council gave a lecture on legislative management to floor leader Danilo Dayanghirang, after skewering the agenda in yesterday’s session that led to seven items being taken away from the committee on rules, privileges, laws and ordinances, which is chaired by the floor leader.

Dayanghirang as floor leader is tasked with preparing the agenda and referring legislative items to the various standing committees for public hearing. The latest assault on Dayanghirang puts into focus apprehension by several councilors he may not be up for the job of floor leader being a non-lawyer. The position that requires legal background has been traditionally handled by lawyer councilors.

A city councilor, who asked anonymity, said he understands why Dayanghirang is commandeering legislative items despite violation of rules. He wants to prove he is capable by cornering as many items to prop up his performance ratings, he said.

The council secretariat is coming up with the half-year performance report in July. Before he took the post in February, the report had showed Dayanghirang had authored a measly one resolution in the July-December 2007 period.

Councilor Bonifacio Militar, replaced by Dayanghirang in February, yesterday during the regular session rapped Dayanghirang for assigning to the rules committee, chaired by the floor leader, legislative items that should go to other committees.

Councilor Victorio Advincula, also a former floor leader, backed Militar in a 20-minute verbal exchange as Dayanghirang defended his move to refer to his committee several legislative items mostly pertaining to housing issues.

Militar said the floor leader’s act to corner legislative items not belonging to his committee on rules is a blatant violation of house rules and would leave no work for other committees.

Backtracking, Dayanghirang agreed to surrender the items that included an application for reclassification of a lot from light industrial to heavy industrial in Toril, a probe on fund mishandling by a homeowners association in Bago Gallera, and a request to reconsider declaration of nine informal settlers in Ilang as squatters by the Committee Against Professional Squatters and Squatting Syndicates, which were referred to the committee on housing chaired by councilor Arnolfo Ricardo Cabling; a protest against confiscation by shellfish vendors and a prohibition on cigarettes and alcoholic drinks near gasoline stations, which went to the committee on trade chaired by councilor Pilar Braga; and a memorandum of agreement on livelihood generation between the city government and a multi-purpose cooperative, which was referred to the committee on cooperatives of councilor John Louie Bonguyan.

Last month, Dayanghirang also came under fire from councilors after he released a performance report of the city councilors. Militar and Cabling, consistent top performers in the city council semi-annual performance reports, had scored Dayanghirang for media interviews where he cited their committees as having the biggest backlogs. Militar took offense at Dayanghirang’s statement to media that he is saddled by the backlogs passed on to his committee by former floor leader Militar. Militar said Dayanghirang should not publicize himself at the expense of the other councilors.