By Mae Singuay

A Bacolod City council member was irked by the various memoranda received by the Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) from the office of the city administrator.

During a regular session on Wednesday, February 8, Councilor Al Victor Espino delivered a privileged speech to express his sentiments and concerns relative to the memos signed by City Administrator Pacifico Maghari III and their merits.

The memos were received by the Sangguniang Secretariat from last year until January of this year.

Espino said the SP is not subservient to the executive and that memos were not proper decorum for matters between the SP and the executive.

The councilor added that he noticed memos were sweeping. There was no distinction to whom those were addressed, which meant SP was included.

“I believe it should not happen,” Espino said.

On his part, Maghari denied the claims of Espino.

He explained that the memos were not directly addressed to any particular SP member or staff, but were addressed to the departments and offices under the city administrator.

“Sa tanan nga memos, wala gid ko may gin-obra directed to the SP. I talked to my staff [and] what happened gali, ang staff ko nag-[send] sang copies sa Sanggunian kay nag-request sa ila before,” Maghari said.

The administrator admitted it was an honest mistake, and the memos provided to the SP were mostly informative and not directives.

He said that all the comments by Espino are well taken, adding that he is willing to have an inter-office dialogue with the councilors and the SP.

Maghari extended his apologies for any inconvenience, not only to Espino but also to the SP, and reiterated his respect for the institution and the separation of powers between the SP and the executive./MS, WDJ