The New City Council amended the existing house rules of the Sangguniang Panlungsod, particularly the schedule of the regular session which was moved from 10 a.m. to 1 a.m.
“As we adopt the 19th City Council rules, we amended the time of the session. Previously, it was provided that we hold the session at 10 a.m. but this time, we moved it to 1 p.m. It would be bad to look if we don’t amend it yet we hold the session in the afternoon. We have to be strict with the rules,” Majority Floor Leader J. Melchor Quitain said.
According to Quitain, the amendment was the proposal of Vice Mayor Sebastian Duterte.
“This is vice’s request and the consensus of the other councilors,” Quitain said.
According to Quitain, the new time of the session is better than the previous one.
“When we start at 10 a.m., we will be cut by the lunch break. Sometimes, the lunch break causes delays because, of course, some take an hour or two during their lunch time. So, time is wasted in the middle,” he said.
“Whereas when we start at 1 p.m., there will be no in-between breaks but we can have snacks inside the session hall instead so the work will be uninterrupted,” Quitain added.
Meanwhile, the vice mayor said they will enact 24 landmark laws that will support the priorities of the local and national government.
Duterte also encouraged the members of the new council to be “grounded by the principle that we commonly adhere to, which is to advance the interest of the people.”
“We will do our best to be responsive of the ever-changing times. The City Council will stand for what is right, what is in the law, the underprivileged, and the poor,” Quitain said.
