14 September 2005
OPINION: Presiding from afar
The Pen Speaks
Danny O. Sagun
A SANGGUNIAN session being presided from a distance by the vice-mayor thru hi-tech communications?
We heard that soon Dagupan City Vice-Mayor Alvin Fernandez could just stay somewhere away from the session hall and still preside over it using his laptop equipped with a webcam. Councilors at the session hall will have their respective laptops too to interact freely with the presiding officer and with the aid of a projector, the audience in the gallery can watch the proceedings (that term again) as if the vice-mayor is just around.
This technology has been in place for years, widely used in business transactions. No need for a branch manager or a vice-president of an agency or company stationed elsewhere in the country to rush to Manila to attend a meeting with the bosses. A video teleconference will do the whole thing. Saves a lot on time, effort and gas.
Maybe this hi-tech approach is what the sangguniang panlugsod is itching to do. We’re afraid, though that this scheme will tend to encourage more absenteeism in that body. The sanggunian, it will be noted, has been conducting session with three to five members always absent. From our own experience, we have yet to see the face of the youth representative every time we drop by the session. Ditto with a lady councilor and a lawyer-member. They seem not the least bothered by the penalty imposed against erring members.
By the way, is the penalty still strictly enforced? We have no report on it.
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A big amount of people’s money was used to buy computer notebooks for each member of the sanggunian. The idea perhaps was to save on expenses for the printing of the minutes which usually run to several pages. Instead of providing every member those voluminous minutes along with the agenda for the session day, the councilors can just browse on their laptop to read what they need. We may agree on the noble intention.
Our concern hinges though on the fact that government-provided equipment, say vehicles, cellular phones, motorcycles, etc., usually end up as personal things already. What happened to those cellphones issued to the former members of the legislative body? Were they returned? We don’t think so. We recall how an alderman came out with an affidavit claiming the phone (then a high-end unit) was lost.
With the advent of more hi-tech camera (and soon video) phones, we can only guess that sooner or later, the city council would just appropriate money for the purchase of new models. And newer models, and newer models, probably for as long as the video guys keep discovering these new gizmos.
Our concern hinges though on the fact that government-provided equipment, say vehicles, cellular phones, motorcycles, etc., usually end up as personal things already. What happened to those cellphones issued to the former members of the legislative body? Were they returned? We don’t think so. We recall how an alderman came out with an affidavit claiming the phone (then a high-end unit) was lost.
With the advent of more hi-tech camera (and soon video) phones, we can only guess that sooner or later, the city council would just appropriate money for the purchase of new models. And newer models, and newer models, probably for as long as the video guys keep discovering these new gizmos.
