MINORITY Floor Leader Agapito Suan yesterday, July 14, called the 21st City Council’s decision to strike the word “disqualify” from the minutes of a previous meeting as a “dangerous” precedent.
Last week, Councilor Alam Lim questioned Association of Barangay Councils (ABC) president Marlo Tabac’s membership in the city council, initially moving for Tabac’s disqualification.
The motion was later changed to a one-week deferment after the majority bloc prevailed.
On Monday, Lim moved to amend the word “disqualification” in the minutes, leading to a discussion within the council.
Suan, who consistently objected to the amendment, stated his desire for transparency and his opposition to tampering with the record of their sessions.
“The minutes of our meeting is a transcription of what happened in the city council, its like a journal,” Suan explained.
He added that even if the final motion was deferment, he pleaded not to delete the phrase “motion to disqualify” from the record.
Suan argued that approving the amendment to strike out the word was a dangerous and awkward act.
“What if in the future kung naa ta’y nasulti, pwede ra diay nato i-strike,” he asked rhetorically.
He likened it to saying “I love you” and then amending it to “I like you,” asserting that such a simple change is not applicable for the city council.
He further termed it a “dangerous maneuver,” as amending the prior word meant deleting the fact that Lim had used the word “disqualification.”
Despite Suan’s objection, the majority bloc ultimately voted to amend the word “disqualification” to “deferment.”
Under typical parliamentary rules, the council cannot “edit” words in a past session in the sense of going back and changing what was actually said or decided. Instead, they amend the minutes of a past session.
However, Majority Floor Leader Edgar Cabanlas said Lim should be exempted for using the word “disqualification” as an “ordinary human being, an ordinary citizen.”
“Wala makatoon sa balaod, ang akong nakita sa iya sa sinugdanan ang iyang buot ipasabot is deferment,” Cabanlas said.
He added that the council agreed, saying “We agreed, tutal, harmless man ‘na sya kaayo nga move.”
Cabanlas explained that the motion had no effect on the entire proceedings because the approved motion was the deferment, not the disqualification.
While the record of the disqualification will remain in the minutes, Cabanlas explained that their motion to amend the word would also be recorded.
“Naa (gihapon) tong statement pero naa la’y motion to strike out,” Cabanlas said.
