Cracks between Baguio City council and mayor emerging

BEHIND THE SCENES

Alfred P. Dizon

BAGUIO CITY – Fifty-nine ‘catalytic’ projects have been implemented during the first term of Mayor Benjamin Magalong, but this time, according to the grapevine, some city councilors are not happy with how projects are being implemented.
    Our informant says as a result, there are now eight “oppositionist” councilors but that is going ahead of the story.
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In his second-term’s recent 100-day accomplishment report, the mayor said projects covered a wide array of hard and soft projects on environment, social services, heritage conservation, sustainable tourism, housing, youth and sports.
    Also included were energy saving, health centers, satellite markets, agriculture programs, parks development, multi-purpose halls and urban mobility projects, according to a report from the city government information office.
Baguio, according to Magalong, the city government is developing necessary analytics to measure how these projects meet sustainable development goals (SDGs).
    “In the long run, it is imperative we know we are balancing properly our social, economic and environmental programs to attain sustainability and resiliency.  We are committed to implement programs on climate change adaptation and mitigation,” he said.
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Magalong said he will continue reporting the city’s accomplishments and alignments according to the SDGs.         “There will be no let-up on our efforts, for all of these will lead to one thing – to become the livable community that we need to be.  We need to achieve an urban renewal that would remove the decaying marks of many years,” he said.
    The mayor said this can only be achieved “if we share the burden and together work on the solutions.” But with rumblings within the city council, there may be hindrances to implementation of city programs.
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There is no denying that fact that the mayor is intent in his thrust to make Baguio a better place like road-clearing which had resulted to demolition of some structures and buildings erected along city roads, according to observers.
    Cleaning and clearing of the city’s river systems are also projects which had earned accolade of local folks.
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With his vision for more “catalytic” projects, it is normal to have naysayers even within the city council who feel left out that they are not being consulted enough by top officials of the executive department.
    Our informant cited the building of huge, luxurious and “world-class” barangay halls.
    He said even if the mayor got the funds from outside sources, not city coffers, he should have consulted the city council on this matter.
    According to our source, instead of building huge barangay halls in only a few areas, the money could have been apportioned to improve other barangay halls.
    “It would be a huge expense on the city government to maintain huge barangay buildings, our informant said.        Other sources however said, it would be better to build huge barangay halls as these could be used by folks for a wide array of activities, particularly senior citizens who need a place of their own.    
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Anyhow, cracks between the city council and executive department have come to a head. Councilor Mylene Yaranon recently filed libel and slander charges against the mayor over the latter’s statements wherein the councilor said Magalong put her reputation at stake by accusing her of “twisting facts and figures” and “politicking.”
    Yaranon, who filed her complaints with the Office of City Prosecutor, said Magalong made some “malicious imputations” that allegedly caused her “dishonor” and “discredited” her.
    She said her slander complaint stemmed from Magalong’s speech during a recent flag-raising ceremony at city hall grounds, while the libel complaint was due to an open letter posted on Magalong’s Facebook page.
    Yaranon and Magalong’s tiff stemmed from their dissenting opinions on developing the former Bibak dormitory lot on Harrison Road and issues about the rehabilitation of the city’s public market.
    SM and Robinsons have expressed interest in developing the market, but following complaints of inadequate consultations on the matter, the development process was temporarily shelved, city hall informants said.
    According to Yaranon, Magalong hurled accusations against her beyond development issues.
    Yaranon cited the mayor’s alleged imputation she supported “two adversarial political parties during the 2022 elections.”
    She said the mayor even accused her of “doing nothing when the architects that I called to help in the planning of the rehabilitation of the market are allegedly asking for 10 percent of the total amount of the project.”
    According to her, Magalong also accused her of not doing anything about the alleged sub-standard projects of the Dept. of Public Works and Highways in the city.
    “He (Magalong) insinuated that I am a person of no principle and a public official that is not doing anything on matters of public interest,” Yaranon said.
    The councilor asked for P500,000 to compensate her “moral damages, anxiety, depression and sleepless nights.”
    She added she had to spend P150,000 in attorneys’ fees and pay a P3,000 appearance fee (per appearance) as the case progressed.
    Magalong said he was willing to face charges that would be filed against him after the same speech during the flag-raising ceremony, adding people “deserve a better Baguio” and that he was promoting good governance.
It seems, rundown to the next elections is underway, according to an observer.