City councilor wants out of environment committee
April 4, 2011
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO — Disclosing he is wearing “two hats” as a lawmaker and an environmentalist, Councilor Lito Ocampo has verbally announced his resignation as vice chairman of the City Council’s Environmental Protection Committee.
Ocampo’s resignation, yet to be formalized in writing, came after environment committee chairman Reden Halili moved for the approval of a resolution authorizing the Department of Public Works and Highways to cut some 24 trees along Jose Abad Santos Avenue to give way for its expansion and the construction of a flyover at the Lazatin Boulevard-JASA intersection.
On March 15, Halili led the committee, in the absence of Ocampo, in a public hearing attended by involved stakeholders, including representatives from the Pampanga Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc., and Save the Trees Coalition.
As soon as Halili took to the podium to move for the resolution’s approval, Ocampo quickly posed his objection, saying he was “not invited” to the hearing. The issue sparked a long and heated debate on the floor, interrupted only by prolonged periods of recess to discuss the matter off the plenary.
“First, I was not invited to the hearing and it was just later when I was in Manila that I was informed about the hearing. Second, if that was approved, I cannot be party to that since I am wearing two hats: one as a legislator and the other as an environmentalist-member of the Save the Trees Coalition, which I feel I give more weight to. Who has the authority to cut trees anyway?” stressed Ocampo.
The councilor-environmentalist also requested presiding officer Vice Mayor Edwin Santiago, to have Halili’s and his motions “stricken” off the journal.
Majority Floor Leader Councilor Alex Patio and Santiago attempted to dissuade Ocampo from bolting out of the environment committee, saying his being an environmentalist could work well with the committee and suit the environment protection program of the city like tree planting and urban greening. But Ocampo stood his ground.
Unparliamentary
Ocampo’s actions were branded as “unparliamentary” by his colleagues at the august body.
Patio, chairman of the committee on rules, said: “The very reason that he is a part of the [environment] committee, his main responsibility is to convince the council to have that piece of legislation assigned to them. Per our rules, you cannot debate or question a piece of legislation that is being offered by the committee chairman or any member of the committee where the legislation has been referred to and so such makes it unparliamentary.”
Patio furthered that the “differences” of Halili and Ocampo should have been settled before the plenary.
Patio said he hopes that Ocampo would reconsider his position to resign as vice chairman of the committee, as he could be very effective as an environmentalist.
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