MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews / May 14) – Will the city council be like a court room when it opens session in July?
Five out of its 10 elected members are lawyers.
Incumbent councilor and lawyer Fernando Melendez, who only assumed the term of his late brother Amado during the last term, was elected on his own three-year term.
Three-term provincial board member Roland Deticio, also a lawyer, won a seat at the City Council. Deticio replaces his mom, physician Aurora Deticio.
Young lawyer Jay Warren Pabillaran, a Brgy. 9 kagawad, won with the highest number of votes.
Another young lawyer, Analene Mya Rosos, who served as Barangay Casisang councilor, also won a seat.
Lawyer Anthony Barroso ran for and won the post vacated by his uncle.
Conrado Barroso and Melendez were the only two lawyers in the outgoing members of the city council.
From the business community, microfinance executive Ronel Pama said having many lawyers in the Council might help craft good legislation and it might also help minimize anomalies in the executive department.
“But it doesn’t always translate to effective public service,” he said. “Public service is not in the profession or brains, it is in the heart,” he added.
Lawyer Apollo Maguale, legal counsel of Central Mindanao Newswatch who has worked with most of the five lawyers elected, said “first and foremost sincerity and integrity come first, titles are only secondary.”
“But due to the nature of these positions, which is on law-making, the skill of a lawyer is very useful,” he said.
He added that the city council can produce quality laws and expedite law-making unlike with non-lawyers who might asked everytime the question “is it in the law?”
He said lawyer-councilors would only ask why and how a policy would benefit the public.
“As fiscalizer, it is imperative upon a councilor to be familiar with the laws,” he added.
The five lawyers complete the cast that includes re-elected non-lawyer councilors Bob Roberto Casanova and Melchor Maramara; newly-elected councilors Perla Rubio and Lorenzo Dinlayan Jr, and come-backing councilor George Damasco.
Rubio has served as member of the board of directors of the Bukidnon Second Electric Cooperative. Dinlayan, son of Bukidnon leader Lorenzo Sr. has chaired the Provincial Consultative Body of the indigenous peoples. Damasco has served as councilor before.
Councilor Victor Aldeguer, who won as vice mayor of the city, will be the presiding officer of the city council.(Walter I. Balane / MindaNews)
