Cebu City Councilor Proposes Permanent Ordinance Monitoring Body
Cebu City Councilor Michelle Abella-Cellona has introduced a groundbreaking legislative proposal aimed at establishing a permanent monitoring body to ensure that approved city ordinances are properly implemented and do not lapse into inactivity. The proposed measure, known as the Ordinance Implementation, Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (O-Meal) Ordinance of 2026, was officially filed on Monday, February 16, 2026.
Establishing the O-Meal Unit
The ordinance seeks to create an O-Meal unit under the Office of the City Administrator. This unit will function as a non-partisan technical body tasked with monitoring the execution of city ordinances across all municipal departments. Councilor Cellona emphasized that the City currently lacks a centralized system to track compliance and assess the performance of enacted measures, leading to significant governance challenges.
Without structured monitoring, evaluation and learning systems, the City Government risks inefficiencies, underutilization of appropriations, duplication of programs, or failure to achieve intended public policy outcomes, Cellona stated in the proposed measure. She further explained that this deficiency has resulted in uneven implementation, fragmented reporting, and lapses in institutional memory, particularly during changes in political leadership.
Core Responsibilities and Mechanisms
The O-Meal unit will have several core responsibilities designed to enhance governance and accountability. These include maintaining a centralized digital registry of approved ordinances, developing implementation matrices that identify responsible offices and funding sources, and evaluating whether laws are achieving their intended outcomes. To operationalize this, all city departments will be required to submit quarterly compliance reports to the O-Meal unit, and each office must designate an ordinance compliance officer to coordinate with the monitoring body.
It is designed to ensure ordinances are effectively implemented, continuously monitored, systematically evaluated and sustained beyond political and administrative transitions, Cellona noted. The proposal also mandates the creation of a public-facing dashboard to promote transparency, allowing residents to monitor the status of ordinance implementation with updates on timelines, responsible departments, and progress indicators.
Accountability and Future Implications
In addition to monitoring, the ordinance introduces strict accountability mechanisms. Department heads who fail to submit required reports without valid justification may face administrative charges for neglect of duty. Furthermore, no ordinance may be declared dormant or discontinued without written justification and formal review, ensuring that laws remain active and effective.
Beyond compliance monitoring, the O-Meal unit will be authorized to submit evidence-based recommendations to the City Council. These findings may guide lawmakers in amending, expanding, or repealing ordinances based on actual performance data, fostering a data-driven approach to legislation. Funding for the unit will initially be drawn from available appropriations under the Office of the City Administrator, with plans for inclusion in the City’s annual budget in subsequent years.
The proposed measure has been referred to the committee on laws, styling and ordinances for review, marking a significant step toward improving local governance in Cebu City. This initiative reflects a broader effort to enhance public policy outcomes and ensure that city ordinances deliver tangible benefits to residents through systematic oversight and evaluation.
