Council left with 5 members after suspension of top execs

OLONGAPO CITY — Five councilors will handle the lawmaking tasks, while other councilors have assumed the top posts of the city government, after the Office of the Ombudsman suspended virtually all key officials of Olongapo.

Mayor Rolen Paulino, Vice Mayor Aquilino Cortez and eight councilors were suspended for violating a bidding rule when they awarded the Olongapo City Civic Center, also known as the KBG Complex, to a mall developer.

Paulino was replaced by Councilor Lugie Lipumano Garcia, who will serve as acting mayor until March 3 next year.

No need for replacement

Councilor Edic Piano will take the place of Cortez for the next six months, based on the rules of succession prescribed by the Local Government Code (Republic Act No. 7160).

Garcia said RA 7160 stipulates that suspended Councilors Benjamin Cajudo II, Edgardo Guerrero, Noel Atienza, Alreuela Bundang-Ortiz, Edna Elane, Linus Bacay, Randy Sionzon and Egmidio Gonzales Jr. need not be replaced.

“If they are only suspended, no one will need to be appointed, unless their positions are declared vacant,” Garcia said.

Quorum

Garcia said it was business as usual at the City Hall despite the Ombudsman order’s impact on the bureaucracy.

The council will continue operating with Piano, incumbent Councilors Jerome Bacay and Bas Palo, Sangguniang Kabataan Federation president Rodman Barroga, and Angelito Baloy, vice president of Olongapo’s association of barangay captains who replaced Sionzon.

“To pass or approve a resolution, we need three votes, and for an ordinance, we need four votes. As we look at it, we can still have a quorum,” Garcia said.