PB honors outgoing members in last session

THREE outgoing members of the Cebu Provincial Board (PB) will be honored in the 13th PB’s  final session today.

Receiving honors in today’s session are outgoing board members Sergio Restauro (1st district), Wilfredo Caminero (2nd district) and Cesar Ian Zambo (3rd district).

Caminero (Liberal Party), a two-term PB member, upset veteran politician Rep. Pablo Garcia (One Cebu) to become the representive of the 2nd district in the 16th Congress. He clinched the congressional seat  after garnering 84,256 votes against Garcia who received 77,625 in the May elections.

Before serving the PB, Caminero was mayor of Argao town from 1998 to 2007.

Meanwhile, outgoing Cebu City Councilor Raul Alcoseba edged out Restauro with a slim margin of 3,736 votes while Zambo lost to Grecilda Sanchez-Zaballero, daughter of the late vice governor Greg Sanchez.

Vice Governor Agnes Magpale will be presiding over today’s final session of the 13th PB. She will return as the presiding officer of the 14th PB on July 1, after getting a fresh mandate in the May 13 polls.

Magpale had not been presiding the PB sessions in the last six months after she was designated acting governor when Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia was meted a six-month suspension by Malacanang on Dec. 18, 2012 for usurping powers of the office of the vice governor in 2010. Her suspension ended last June 18.

The administration Liberal Party will have a clear majority in the 14th PB with nine members, including Magpale. The majority bloc will be composed of newcomers Alcoseba, Zaballero and Christopher Baricuatro; and reelectionists Peter John Calderon, Miguel Magpale, Jude Durano-Sybico, Teddy Ouano and Arleigh Sitoy.

One Cebu has retained four members namely Julian Daan of the 1st district, Alex Binghay of the 3rd district and Sun Shimura and Benjun Mondigo of the 4th district. /Peter L. Romanillos, Correspondent