Tension grips Cotabato City council session

Screengrab during a tense situation between Cotabato City Mayor Bruce Matabalao (right) and members of the city council during the hearing on the mass layoffs of contractual employees and investigation on where the funds were used. Photo courtesy of Kutangbato News

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 29 October) – Tension flared up at the Sangguniang Panglunsod session in Cotabato City, with Mayor Bruce Matabalao storming out of the hearing on Tuesday, October 29.

The hearing was called to investigate the alleged shortage of funds for contract of service workers (COS), which resulted in the mass layoffs of around 3,000 employees, and to discuss the proposed salary increases for city hall workers.

The tension was triggered after the urgent request of Councilor Hunyn Abu asking Matabalao, through the  Local Finance Committee (LFC), to submit the copy of the  documents he previously posted on social media explaining the allocation of funds.

Matabalao came to the podium where he asked a city budget official to answer.

“As to the copy of the LFC (report), we can provide,” the unnamed budget officer assured.

But Abu responded, “we have to receive it now, at this very moment.”

Taken aback, Matabalao  came back to the podium to speak, but before he could finish, Vice Mayor Butch Abu interrupted.

“Please wait for the chair to recognize you. We have our rules to follow,” the vice mayor said.

Irked, Matabalao responded: “May pa rules-rules pa kayo, you invited me here for the COS and not for those documents.”

Matabalao insisted the session’s rule be suspended at that moment.

“You are the one who was out of order … earlier you were all disorderly because you have no copy of the local finance committee (report) from the certification we have sent, we came here with the friendliest gestures,” Matabalao added.

A video of the session showed the mayor becoming visibly agitated before leaving the hearing.

The vice mayor expressed disappointment with the mayor’s actions, saying he just implemented the council’s internal rules – for Matabalao to wait until recognized.

Matabalao and Abu were allies during the May 2022 elections under the United Bangsamoro Justice Party, the political party of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). Matabalao defeated then mayor Cynthia Guiani.

In the May 2025 elections, Matabalao, still the UBJP bet but backed by the Partido Federal ng Pilipinas party of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., and Abu, the candidate of the Lakas Christian Muslim Democrats-backed Serbisyong Inklusibo Alyansang Progresibo Alliance, will contest the mayoralty post, along with Guiani (Nationalist People’s Coalition)

Abu is the son of the late Ghazali Jaafar, the MILF’s vice chairman for political affairs who later served as chair of the defunct Bangsamoro Transition Commission. (Ferdinandh Cabrera / MindaNews)