DILG to elected execs: Uphold camaraderie

CEBU, Philippines -  As elected officials will be sworn into office today, the Department of Interior and Local Government-Cebu has called on them to set aside politics and instead uphold cooperation and camaraderie among their political nemesis in delivering public service.

DILG-Cebu director Jerome Gonzales said the elected officials have to prioritize the welfare of their constituents.

"If our primary consideration is service delivery and progress, there's no other way – magtinabangay ra gyud," he said.

At 10 a.m. today, Cebu Governor Hilario Davide III and Vice Governor Agnes Magpale will have their oathtaking ceremony at the Capitol Social Hall. Prior to that, a Mass will be celebrated.

The reelected governor will take oath before his cousin-in-law, Court of Appeals Justice Japar Dimaampao.

Gonzales appealed to the incoming local chief executives to push through and implement the Bottom-up Budgeting (BuB) projects.

"Daghan pa kaayong tiwasunon nga BuB projects, basin mo-expire na ang validity sa funds. Hangyo lang na tiwasa ninyo kay para man ni sa katawhan," he said.

BuB funds, he said, have been downloaded to LGUs to finance their respective development projects. The budget should be accumulated two years from the date of release.

Based on the available data from DILG-Cebu, the second wave of BuB projects amounting to P128.49 million for 314 projects are not all implemented. At least 39 projects have not yet started while 40 projects are still ongoing.

Of the 39 projects, 22 are in Bogo City, 11 in Madridejos town, four in Sta. Fe town, and one each in Medellin and San Remigio towns.

BuB, the government's participatory budgeting program, provides P20 million funding for a priority poverty reduction program proposed by a city or municipality.

Mandaue City

In Mandaue City, mayor-elect Luigi Quisumbing will lead the oathtaking ceremony with the newly-elected city councilors at the City Hall ground this morning.

The ceremony will be simple and brief, taking cue from president-elect Rodrigo Duterte who wanted a frugal inaugural affair.

"It will be a simple and intimate oathtaking," Quisumbing's chief of staff Elaine Bathan said.

She said the ceremony will start at 8 a.m. at the nearby National Shrine of St. Joseph. The elected officials will then have their ceremonial walk from the church to the City Hall ground for the oathtaking rites that will be administered by Court of Appeals Justice Marilyn Lagura-Yap.

Bathan said they did not extend an invitation to any national figure to attend or witness the ceremony as they want it to be modest and the Mandauehanons to be the center.

The mayor welcomed the positive response of three One Cebu members who belong to the minority block in the council. Councilors-elect Elmer Cabahug, Benjamin Basiga and Malcolm Sanchez acceded to Quisumbing's request to join him in the ceremony.

Lapu-lapu City

Meanwhile, re-elected Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Paz Radaza will take her oath of office today at the Lapu-Lapu City Session Hall, during the inaugural session of the 14th Sangguniang Panlungsod at 2 p.m.

This will be the last inaugural session for Radaza, who is on her third and final term, said Francisco Limpangug, Secretary of the Sangguniang Panlungsod.

Radaza and the Deretso Team garnered a landslide vote last May 9.

Limpangug said the event will be simple, similar to previous inaugural sessions and oathtaking ceremonies in the city.

"Simple ra gyud kaayo, pika-pika sa taas (second floor), wa'y lunch, wa'y bongga. Tanan, simple kaayo," he said.

Limpangug said the inaugural session will start with a thanksgiving Mass at 12 noon at the City Hall. After the mass, Radaza, the city councilors, re-elected Vice Mayor Marcial Ycong and lone-district Representative Aileen Radaza will walk the red carpet at the center aisle of the session hall.

The elected councilors — Harry Don Radaza, Eduardo Patalinjug, Roque Wagwag , Elias Berdin, Melissa Vidal, Leo Mercado, Ricardo Amores, Nelson Yap,  Flaviano Hiyas Jr., Damian Gomez Jr. , Cipriano Flores and Gregorio Paquibot will do the same.

All elected officials will take oath before Judge Allan Francisco Garciano of the Municipal Trial Court in Cities - Lapu-Lapu City.

Family members of the elected councilors, barangay captains, as well as the city's top 25 tax payers in 2015 will grace the event, said Limpangug.

Around 500 chairs will be placed outside the City Hall for the public. Limpangug added that they did not invite any national public official to the event.

Talisay City

Talisay City mayor-elect Eduardo Gullas, his vice mayor, elected city councilors and two winning Provincial Board members will take their oath  at the People's Hall in Talisay City at 8 a.m. today.

Tapul barangay captain Mary Ann Nolasco, who gained the faith and trust of Gullas, will administer the oathtaking ceremony. A mass will be first held prior to the inauguration.

Around 700 visitors, including the councilors' families and supporters, are expected to attend the event.

Gullas also invited all the priests in Talisay City to attend the ceremony.

Naga City

City of Naga mayor-elect Kristine Chiong will take her oath today before her father, outgoing Mayor Valdemar Chiong, together with other winning officials in the city.

The program will start at 9 a.m. and will be held at the Naga City Hall.

Over 2,000 people, including barangay officials, department heads, representatives of private companies in Naga, City Hall employees and other stakeholders, are expected to attend the ceremony. — Kristine B. Quintas, Garry B. Lao, and Christell M. Tudtud, and Iris Mariani B. Algabre (FREEMAN)