AFTER months of not having an Indigenous People (IP) representative in the Davao City Council, Bai Halila Sudagar was installed Monday as the Indigenous People Mandatory Representative (IPMR) on a hold-over status until a new representative will be selected.
The National Commission on Indigenous People (NCIP)-Davao issued on Monday, August 6, the certificate of hold-over in favor of Sudagar following the resolution endorsed by the Provincial Officer Cristito Ingay on June 25 and signed by Indigenous People's/Indigenous Cultural Commission of Davao City.
Sudagar will keep the post from June 30 to November 30 or until her successor will be selected. She is authorized to perform the duties and functions of the office within the date given.
The legal basis for her installment was the Supreme Court in Lecaroz vs. Sandiganbayan that stated, "Indeed the law abhors a vacuum in public office, and courts generally indulge in the strong presumption against a legislative intent to create, by statue, a condition which may result in an executive or administrative office becoming, for any period of time, wholly vacant or unoccupied by one lawfully authorized to exercise its function. This is founded on obvious considerations of public policy, for the principle of holdover are specifically intended to prevent hiatus in the performance of the government function."
Sudagar, during Tuesday's Pulong Pulong ni Pulong (PPP), thanked the IP community in Davao City for selecting her to take over the post and be the IP's interim representative on account of the absence of a qualified IPMR from the Klata tribe.
Sudagar, representative of Kagan tribe, stepped down from her post on April this year after her three-year term ended. The tribes in the city rotate representation alphabetically every three years to ensure that the concern of the IP is heard.
During her term, she said that all the legislations that she passed have already a recommendation and they no longer have pending legislation.
Yesterday was her first time, after she vacated the post, to attend the regular session. As she assumed the post, she plans to pass an ordinance on the creation of an alternative dispute resolution in the IP community to settle conflict in the tribal level.
Meanwhile, Davao City Vice Mayor Bernard Al-Ag urged Councilor Sudagar to spearhead an intervention to settle the clash between the Klata tribe and the NCIP after the latter blocked the installation of IPMR Cherry Ann Codilla after failure to meet the mandatory genealogical qualification and track record to lead the IP.
"I also appealed to our councilor to unite the IP sector. I hope na as the temporary representative here in the council that these conflict within Klata tribe will be resolve as soon as possible - between the Klate Tribe and NCIP [and even] among themselves to make sure that there is peaceful coexistence of our tribe in Davao City," Al-ag said.
He also lauded the move of the IP sector for coming up with a move in allowing Sudagar to occupy the vacant post for the IP to have a proper representation.
"It will protect the public interest, or the interest of the IP sector, while they are still resolving the problem of the IP representative for the Klata," he added.
Al-ag instructed her to backtrack the pending items of the committee and take over the chairmanship of the Committee on IP and Muslim Affairs, "to make sure that the interest of the IP sector is always protected and represented in every decision that the council will make."
Codilla, meanwhile, said that she backs the move for the IPs to be well-represented in the city. She is currently waiting for the court's decision on the case she filed against the NCIP.
