The Bacolod Sanggunaing Panlungsod passed on first reading yesterday an ordinance “Naming the public building known as the Bacolod City Government Center as the People’s House of Bacolod City,” despite the opposition of Councilor Caesar Distrito.
Distrito, chairman of the SP Committee on Laws, Ordinances and Good Government, said he opposed the move to rename the Bacolod City Government Center citing Section 12 of the Local Government Code which requires local governments to establish a government center. This is a specific provision that deals with the name of the government center, and therefore renaming it by an ordinance is a violation of the law because an ordinance cannot supersede a law, he said. While Section 13 of the Local Government Code is a generic provision that deals with public structures, streets and buildings, other than the government center which is already provided in Section 12, he said. Therefore, if there is a conflict between a specific and generic provision, the specific provision will prevail, Distrito said. Councilor Jocelle Batapa-Sigue, chair of the SP Committee on History, Arts and Culture, said, the status of the building is as is. Only the name was made official, and that the public building of the city is named the People’s House of Bacolod. Distrito said the history of the edifice shows that the purpose of the same is to name it as government center, and incumbent leaders should at least give some respect to their former leader’s intention. An informal consultation he conducted showed that people are against renaming the BCGC to People’s House, he said. The ordinance was jointly authored by Councilors El Cid Familiaran, Archie Baribar, Ana Marie Palermo, Wilson Gamboa, Jr, Batapa-Sigue, Sonya Verdeflor, Claudio Puentevella, and Noli Villarosa, all perceived to be associated with Mayor Monico Puentevella. The government center costs the city P400 million and was constructed during the administration of then Mayor and now Bacolod Rep. Evelio Leonardia.*CGS BY CHRYSEE SAMILLANO Visayan Daily Star
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