DAVAO CITY”•The City Council on Tuesday removed controversial Councilor Nilo “Small” Abellera from all committees he is associated with owing to his continuous absences.
Vice Mayor Paolo Duterte, who presides over the council, said they needed to remove Abellera from all committees where he is chairman or a member of, since he have been absent for quite some time.
“We cannot leave the committee vacant because [Abellera] is absent. There are a lot of things to do and [a lot] needs to be done,” Duterte said.
While Duterte clarified that Abellera is still a councilor, the City Council had urged him to just resign from all his committees since he cannot do his jobs with his absence.
However, Abellera did not submit a resignation letter, forcing the council to remove him, the vice mayor added.
“He did not file any resignation. We’ve advised him to file a resignation, especially that his committee [Peace and Order] is very crucial, the whole city depends on it,” Duterte said.
Since Abellera’s name was dragged into the controversial smuggling of P6.4 billion worth of the illegal drug shabu past the Bureau of Customs, the councilor has attended the council’s regular sessions just once.
Abellera appeared before a Senate hearing on August 31 to deny Customs broker Mark Taguba’s statement that he gave the councilor P5 million as an “enrollment fee” to the so-called Davao Group, who would presumably facilitate the smuggling of the illegal drugs at the BOC.
Abellera has failed to attend subsequent Senate hearings on the controversial drug shipment, citing health reasons. Taguba likewise implicated Vice Mayor Duterte, the son of President Rodrigo Duterte, in the anomalous transaction.
Meanwhile, Paolo Duterte said Councilor Bernard Al-ag “is constantly talking to” Abellera.
“We understand that he is sick and he needs to attend to the Senate hearing, but we cannot leave the job vacant. The council needs to work,” the vice mayor added. “When he returns to office, then we can talk about his chairmanship. For now, someone needs to take over.”
Councilor Mabel Sunga-Acosta has replaced Abellera as committee chair for Peace and Order, vice chair of Public Works and Highways, and member of the committees on International Affairs, Barangay Affairs, Finance, Ways and Means, Education, and Tourism.