The political gap that separated Mayor Dan Neri Lim and V-Mayor Jose Antonio Veloso has widened with the bones of contention centered on the appropriation of casuals and the sale of city ordinances. The trigger mechanism was the letter of V-Mayor Veloso to City Budget Officer Rosemarie Palma. In that letter, the vice mayor chided the city budget officer for her refusal to certify the availability of appropriations for wages of job order casuals to the Sangguniang Panglungsud. According to Veloso, of the less than two months that he assumed office, Palma continually refused his requests, the latest of which was on the appropriation of casuals. Palma did not take Veloso's admonition sitting down. She forwarded Veloso's letter to Mayor Lim setting off the bitter exchange of communications. Taking the cudgels for his budget officer, Mayor Lim took to task Veloso by citing the limitations of the vice mayor's jurisdiction of his duties and responsibilities. The mayor informed Veloso that city budget office performs an executive function and therefore directly under the city chief executive. The mayor further said that in any event that the vice mayor has any complaint on the conduct of the city budget office or any officer under the executive department, the correct procedure would be to address any query or complaint to the city mayor himself. Calling Veloso's gesture as an act of disrespect, Mayor Lim reminded Veloso that no incident of this kind will occur in the future for their mutual benefit. He warned that a repetition of this indiscretion will be dealt with more severely. The swapping of raps between the mayor and vice mayor did end there.

MAYOR VETOES RESOLUTION

On the same day that the mayor castigated Veloso, Lim also vetoed a resolution of the Sangguniang Panglungsud authorizing the disposition and sale of copies of the Revised Code of Administrative Ordinances.  Mayor Lim explained that his move to veto a resolution authored by the vice mayor was intended to let the people know the truth.  Lim said the veto, which the mayor said he did “with a heavy heart”, was in consideration of the people's sacred right to information. The controversial measure authored by the vice mayor seeks to raise revenues from those who want to obtain copies of the Revised Code of Administrative Ordinances in book form. Lim said he could not sign a legislative measure that is defective in form and in substance. While a resolution is merely an expression of legislative opinion or sentiment, an ordinance pertains to governmental functions. The mayor said a mere glance at the title of Resolution No. 07-94 “Authorizing The Disposition And Sale of Copies of the Ordinance No. C-201 Otherwise Known as the 2007 Revised Code of Administrative Ordinance of the City of Tagbilaran ” will show that “this is more than just an expression of legislative opinion and rather pertains to government function”.

Aside from the flaw in form, Lim said there are at least three major flaws that should have been considered prior to the approval of the questionable measure.

First, the mayor said the granting of authority to a functionary of the legislative department to perform an executive function “is an encroachment on Executive functions”.

Secondly, Lim said the measure has no basis in law. Although it mentions the Revised Code of Administrative Ordinances of the city government, he said the measure is more of revenue-making and should have considered as basis the City's Revenue Code or the Local Government Code which he described as “the Bible” of the local government unit's operation.

Thirdly, the mayor said the most important consideration is that ordinances being public documents should be open to any citizen who desires to have access to them.

“To allow access to these documents only upon payment of cost is a violation of a sacred Constitutional right,” the mayor stressed. The veto is viewed as the most serious crisis to ensue between the two top officials who have been at odds since Day 1. Lim said he could not in principle allow the measure to be passed considering its grave implications to the people's right to information. “While nearly every functionary in government and selected private citizens are given copies of the city ordinances, the ordinary people have to pay first before they can see them. This is not what democracy is all about,” he noted. The mayor said that notwithstanding his personal hesitation and due respect to the vice mayor, his conscience will not allow him to let the said measure be passed into law “just because it is authored by the vice mayor.” Lim also took time out to chide the vice-mayor's insistence to defend the measure saying it would have been easier if the controversial measure was pulled out and an apology issued regarding the errors it contained.