Isagani S. Liporada
BAGUIO CITY – Mayor Reinaldo Bautista, Jr. last week revealed that the his office and the District Field Office of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) last week are mulling ways on how to “spread out City Government blessings more equally among barangays.”
During the weekly “Ugnayan” hosted by DZEQ, October 2, he said he and DILG Baguio Field Office director Evelyn Trinidad are looking into the possibility of sharing “some executive powers among city councilors who shall be made care-takers of the 129-barangays divided into 15-districts.”
Bautista said the plan, a first in the country, is geared towards bringing services closer to the constituents of the city.
He said, “Normally, a chief executive would try to hold on to as much power as he can… but not in our city and under our administration.”
“Once we are able to do this,” he explained, “our councilors can easily assess and address various concerns of their respective districts via needed legislation and possibly, through direct consultation with our office who is tasked under RA 7160 to prepare the annual city budget.”
Bautista admitted the executive branch cannot go it alone in trying to address the minutest concerns of barangays.
“With this innovation, I am sure that aside from addressing barangay needs, we shall likewise be instituting a tight-neat local government,” he added.
Meanwhile, Trinidad clarified the division of 129-barangays into districts is “not political in nature as what Congressional districts are.”
”As thus,” she said, “it will not go against established provisions of the RA 7160, particularly in non-delegation of powers further delegated by Congress to the local chief executive.”
“In fact,” she explained, “our local legislators are being tapped to lead some city special projects which is permitted under the code which is why we have councilors taking care of some special events or some ad hoc committees under the office of the mayor.”
She however admitted, “The only problem confronting the plan right now is the number of voters per district.”
She explained, “We cannot just divide the districts on the basis of the number of barangays because the population in some is much greater than the others.”
“To ensure that our local legislators would accede to the plan,” she added, “we need to find a way to at least approximate equal number of voters per council district.”**ISL
