In my work as a roving news reporter in the 5th and 6th districts of Pangasinan, I am very observant on the work ethics and attitudes of local executives. I regularly monitor their work habit not only in their dealings with media people and their constituents but also on how they perform their job as elected officials.
Many local executives in these parts of the province (that include vice mayors and councilors) who are not supposed to be in their positions. They are either regularly absent in their office or you could hardly meet them for interviews. They have many alibis and excuses that sometimes becoming irrational and at most irritating for a media man like me.
I don’t have to name names here who are the “lazy” local executives, for they know who they are. How many times that I’ve been in their offices only to get information that the mayor is out or in official business and nobody attends to the many constituents in their offices. The only thing you will hear from a staff is “ bumalik na lang kayo”- a statement that you will never know when or when you return you do not know if you will have the liberty of taking a minute or so for his presence and attention..
Sometimes I am thinking what kind of officials we have in the province. They’re not true to their promises during the election campaign that they will serve their people with promptness and good service.
Who will not feel frustrated seeing a municipal mayor who’s in his office taking a nap with two feet raised on top of his table? Who will not be irritated waiting for almost an hour when his staff assured you that you can talk to him and afterwards tell you that he is busy attending to paper works? The mayor has been a perennial winner in his town. He’s been a vice mayor and he took over the rein of the town when the term of his brother-mayor expired. Or, may be this mayor is suffering from “ media pruritis,” an intense itchiness whenever he will see a media man especially belonging to the “ media kuno” group with large media IDs hanging over their breasts. To think it deeper, this mayor might have suffered nasty experience from these “ media-mediahan” that he thinks all media people are not worth to talk with. Gising Mayor! Otherwise I will let your name be printed here in the next issue.
Be that as it may, there are also municipal mayors in the 5th and 6th districts who are worthy of commendation. Aside of their being accessible to media people, they have work ethics worthy of emulation by their peers and other local executives. These are the mayors who are true to their calling for genuine public service.
Top in my list is Urdaneta City Mayor Amadeo Gregorio “ Bobom” Perez IV. He is a hands-on local executive who reports to his office before 8:00 am and leaves at 12:00 noon. He returns to his office at 1:00 pm and the last one to leave after 5:00 pm. All callers are being attended to with smiles on their faces after leaving the mayor’s office.
Bobom exudes leadership dynamism. His name plate is devoid of the word “honorable” before his name with his position written not as city mayor but a mere “ public servant”. “I am a public servant. I want to serve our people,” he said in one of my interview with him why the word “public servant”.
Hs critics during the election campaign were wrong when they claimed that Bobom will be working in the shadow of his father then City Mayor Amadeo R. Perez, Jr. He is indeed his own man. Every time I asked about his father Bobom has to say: “ I have no knowledge of his whereabouts as he is busy with his own work as Chairman of Manila Economic and Cooperation Office (MECO).” Indeed, he leads by example to his staff and city employees by wearing also his ID in attending his office work.
Who will not be mesmerized with the transformation of Urdaneta City now? Go there and see for yourself.
Second in my list is the neophyte mayor of Villasis Libradita Go-Abrenica. Like Bobom, she proved her critics wrong during the election campaign that she will just be in the shadow of her husband three-termer Mayor Nonato S. Abrenica. Like Bobom, this lady mayor has her own brand of leadership- approachable and hands-on in her approach to development.
Of course, Mayor Dita is my town mate and I might be branded as biased. But no sir! If I don’t believe in her leadership, I will be the first one to throw criticisms at her. But then, she did not fail us in the town. She really deserved the mandate give by the Villasinians.
With the nine years service of her husband Nato, Villasis has been transformed to what it is today.- a first class town with eye popping and awe inspiring edifices. Who will not be inspired of the newly renovated Catholic and municipal cemeteries in Villasis? It took Mayor Dita the political will to implement a project which has not been tried by many of her predecessors (except Mayor Nato). Last All Saints” Day, many cemetery goers have only good words to the new administration of Villasis. The cemeteries’ transformation is just one of the lined-up projects. Soon, Villasis will have a livelihood training center and dairy farm.
The next election in 2016 is still far away and I know Mayor Dita will have more surprises to offer to her town mates in terms of projects and human development.
In 6th district, the same brand of leadership could be attributed to Asingan Mayor Heide Ganigan-Chua, San Nicolas Mayor Leoncio “Jangget: Saldivar III, Natividad Mayor Rodrigo “Cocoy” Rafael and San Quintin Mayor Romulo “Mulong” Antolin. I will be writing about them too in my next columns.
To my readers, be observant of your local officials. I will offer this corner to be your link to your town mates. Please give me feedbacks about what they are doing. We deserve good governance and genuine public service.
Repost from Northern Watch
Many local executives in these parts of the province (that include vice mayors and councilors) who are not supposed to be in their positions. They are either regularly absent in their office or you could hardly meet them for interviews. They have many alibis and excuses that sometimes becoming irrational and at most irritating for a media man like me.
I don’t have to name names here who are the “lazy” local executives, for they know who they are. How many times that I’ve been in their offices only to get information that the mayor is out or in official business and nobody attends to the many constituents in their offices. The only thing you will hear from a staff is “ bumalik na lang kayo”- a statement that you will never know when or when you return you do not know if you will have the liberty of taking a minute or so for his presence and attention..
Sometimes I am thinking what kind of officials we have in the province. They’re not true to their promises during the election campaign that they will serve their people with promptness and good service.
Who will not feel frustrated seeing a municipal mayor who’s in his office taking a nap with two feet raised on top of his table? Who will not be irritated waiting for almost an hour when his staff assured you that you can talk to him and afterwards tell you that he is busy attending to paper works? The mayor has been a perennial winner in his town. He’s been a vice mayor and he took over the rein of the town when the term of his brother-mayor expired. Or, may be this mayor is suffering from “ media pruritis,” an intense itchiness whenever he will see a media man especially belonging to the “ media kuno” group with large media IDs hanging over their breasts. To think it deeper, this mayor might have suffered nasty experience from these “ media-mediahan” that he thinks all media people are not worth to talk with. Gising Mayor! Otherwise I will let your name be printed here in the next issue.
Be that as it may, there are also municipal mayors in the 5th and 6th districts who are worthy of commendation. Aside of their being accessible to media people, they have work ethics worthy of emulation by their peers and other local executives. These are the mayors who are true to their calling for genuine public service.
Top in my list is Urdaneta City Mayor Amadeo Gregorio “ Bobom” Perez IV. He is a hands-on local executive who reports to his office before 8:00 am and leaves at 12:00 noon. He returns to his office at 1:00 pm and the last one to leave after 5:00 pm. All callers are being attended to with smiles on their faces after leaving the mayor’s office.
Bobom exudes leadership dynamism. His name plate is devoid of the word “honorable” before his name with his position written not as city mayor but a mere “ public servant”. “I am a public servant. I want to serve our people,” he said in one of my interview with him why the word “public servant”.
Hs critics during the election campaign were wrong when they claimed that Bobom will be working in the shadow of his father then City Mayor Amadeo R. Perez, Jr. He is indeed his own man. Every time I asked about his father Bobom has to say: “ I have no knowledge of his whereabouts as he is busy with his own work as Chairman of Manila Economic and Cooperation Office (MECO).” Indeed, he leads by example to his staff and city employees by wearing also his ID in attending his office work.
Who will not be mesmerized with the transformation of Urdaneta City now? Go there and see for yourself.
Second in my list is the neophyte mayor of Villasis Libradita Go-Abrenica. Like Bobom, she proved her critics wrong during the election campaign that she will just be in the shadow of her husband three-termer Mayor Nonato S. Abrenica. Like Bobom, this lady mayor has her own brand of leadership- approachable and hands-on in her approach to development.
Of course, Mayor Dita is my town mate and I might be branded as biased. But no sir! If I don’t believe in her leadership, I will be the first one to throw criticisms at her. But then, she did not fail us in the town. She really deserved the mandate give by the Villasinians.
With the nine years service of her husband Nato, Villasis has been transformed to what it is today.- a first class town with eye popping and awe inspiring edifices. Who will not be inspired of the newly renovated Catholic and municipal cemeteries in Villasis? It took Mayor Dita the political will to implement a project which has not been tried by many of her predecessors (except Mayor Nato). Last All Saints” Day, many cemetery goers have only good words to the new administration of Villasis. The cemeteries’ transformation is just one of the lined-up projects. Soon, Villasis will have a livelihood training center and dairy farm.
The next election in 2016 is still far away and I know Mayor Dita will have more surprises to offer to her town mates in terms of projects and human development.
In 6th district, the same brand of leadership could be attributed to Asingan Mayor Heide Ganigan-Chua, San Nicolas Mayor Leoncio “Jangget: Saldivar III, Natividad Mayor Rodrigo “Cocoy” Rafael and San Quintin Mayor Romulo “Mulong” Antolin. I will be writing about them too in my next columns.
To my readers, be observant of your local officials. I will offer this corner to be your link to your town mates. Please give me feedbacks about what they are doing. We deserve good governance and genuine public service.
Repost from Northern Watch
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