This time, the PGKM insists that Ordinance No. 398 was “railroaded” by the present administration because of the absence of “an honest to goodness public hearing.”
It was learned that the city council conducted a public hearing on the ordinance in Barangay Sapang Bato last December.
But PGKM chair Ruperto Cruz assailed the said public hearing: “For such an ordinance of such importance and with a big impact on business, why hold it in Sapang Bato? They are hiding something.”
Cruz said they could have conducted the hearing at the sangguniang panlungsod hall as they did during the proposed real property tax increase.
“Meging habit yune itang manyalikut para i-railroad ye ing buri yu (It has become your habit to hide it just to railroad what you want),” Cruz said.
“This can be gleaned from the Capilion project in Clark which is shrouded in mystery too,” he said.
When the city council came up with a resolution against the establishment of the Capilion project at the main gate of the Clark Freeport Zone, Mayor Edgardo Pamintuan herded the city council who met with Tugade at his office in Clark.
“What happened in that meeting?” Cruz asked. “Now the city council is silent on the Capilion project,” he noted.
Cruz said Ordinance No. 398 could not even pass the four-way test of the Rotary Club. “Is it the truth? Is it fair to all concerned? Will it build goodwill and better friendship? Will it be benefi cial to all concerned?”
“We don’t need a moro- moro public hearing just to comply with the law,” he charged.
Cruz said the PGKM is calling for another public hearing on the ordinance with the business sector properly represented in the city council building where it is accessible for everyone.
Meanwhile, Vice Mayor Bryan Nepomuceno has yet to respond. The vice mayor has not replied to text messages sent to his cellphone.
Ordinance No. 398 series of 2016 requires mandatory public legal liability insurance coverage of said businesses in the city except those within public markets, medical and dental clinics, accounting office and law offices and those with existing insurance.
