Bacolod City Councilor Ana Marie Palermo yesterday appealed to concerned parties in the BREDCO port dispute to make the Holy Week "a cooling off period" before going back to the negotiating table for another round of talks under a non-hostile environment and come out with a win-win solution.

In a privilege speech yesterday, Palermo also asked councilor Lyndon Caña to take back his statement that the SP is an abortion clinic of its ideas. But Caña, who was peeved when the SP voted 6-6 and "killed" his proposed takeover ordinance of the BREDCO port on first reading two weeks ago, said he was merely asking, not concluding, if the body was an abortion clinic in his privilege speech March 30.

Caña said that, while he respects the majority's stand on the proposed ordinance, he was not given an opportunity to explain his stand after the SP denied passage of the proposal.

He also said that Palermo failed to answer the question whether there is a rule that the SP can kill a proposed ordinance even on first reading or before hearing the explanation of the proponents.

The minority report on the BREDCO was not even read by some SP members, Caña added.

Palermo said that during the executive-legislative caucus last week she told Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia that she will prepare and propose the covering resolution to call all parties with additional members to go back to the negotiating table as suggested by most of the councilors present.

But she did not propose the resolution in deference to Caña's privilege speech, she said.

Palermo also said she is not for the proposed takeover ordinance because it pre-empted the SP's discussion of all options pursuant to resolution 921 that tasked Caña and other councilors to study all options, including takeover, recission, arbitration and all other alternatives available to the city.

The drastic act of extra judicial takeover sends a wrong message that the city is not investor or business friendly and establishes dangerous precedents considering that the city could at its own convenience just take it upon themselves to not honor the contracts entered, she said.

Caña said that, because BREDCO did not comply with the terms and condition of its contract with the city, the SP minority recommended the takeover of the port operation and to rebid it to other private business or investors in the city.

Meanwhile, Vice-Mayor Renecito Novero yesterday said he will host an official dinner for SP members so they can take up other issues discussed in an open forum, other than the session hall. *CPT

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