Ranting Outside the Common Ground
By: F. M. Agena
The session of any concerned Sanggunian in the Local Government
whether regular or special is the common ground where it's members including
the ex-officios have equal rights over the use and practice of parliamentary
procedures especially in their (The Members)desire to express themselves over
issues that affect the lives and works of their constituents
However, those rights have their limitations,
too. Because while it maybe true that they have inherent and parliamentary
powers to tackle issues at hand considering the mandate that they have in
possession as duly elected Members of the concerned Sanggunian it maybe true
also that it is not appropriate and beyond the turf for any of them to abuse
that authority specially in malicious effort to defame the character or malign
the reputation of any person not otherwise a member of the Sanggunian during
the session obviously in wanton display of parliamentary arrogance.
For how can you expect one who is not
part and parcel of the Sanggunian sessions to freely answer rantings and
tirades addressed against him by a Member of the Sanggunian taking into account
his parliamentary handicap being an outsider of the Sanggunian over those
parliamentary rights of a bonafide Sanggunian Member? Is'nt it more appropriate
and more parliamentary that matters affecting the official functions of a head
of office or any concerned individual or party in the local government be
discussed initially in a meeting called for the purpose?
I have expressed this opinion in the
hope that this would help open the doors of opportunity for every reader or
concerned men and women in any legislative councils to think many times in
order to avoid such unparliamentary and arrogant display of authority that
could have resulted, wittingly or unwittingly, to blatant disregard of fairness
and justice among peers and among individuals who deserve no less than peaceful
state of work and life evenly either inside or outside the grounds of local
parliaments.
