Davide, new governors compare experiences

Debt in the millions of pesos. No turnover of documents. Dismal performances of employees loyal to the past administration.

These were some of the concerns raised by 20 newly installed governors during a peer-to-peer orientation organized by the League of Provinces of the Philippines (LPP) at the Marco Polo Plaza, yesterday.

Cebu Gov. Hilario Davide III and other governors around the country sought the advice of speakers from the Department of Interior and Local Governments (DILG) and the Bureau of Local Government Finance (BLGF) on these problems.

Davide said his administration can relate to the concerns faced by his colleagues in the LPP.

“From the questions raised by the governors, we more or less share the same sentiments especially for newly elected governors in cases such as mine, we (former governor Gwendolyn Garcia) belong to different parties,” he said.

In fairness to Garcia, now representative of Cebu’s 3rd district, Davide said she facilitated a turnover unlike others “who didn’t experience one”.

Gov. Alfonso Umali Jr. of Oriental Mindoro, who chairs the LPP after he won in the league’s elections last July, said his administration is saddled with the liabilities inherited from the past administration.

Blood compact

Zamboanga Sibugay Gov. Wilter Palma said a huge amount of funds were released separately by his predecessor days before the national and local elections last May.

Misamis Oriental Gov. Yevgeny Vicente Emano claimed that the past administration left him with P500 million worth of debt procured through various loans from financial institutions.

The three officials asked Mar Gabito, Asst. Director of the DILG’s Bureau of Local Government Supervision about the mechanisms employed by the DILG and the BLGF to safeguard the coffers of their province.

Gabito said the governors should have secured clearance on their province’s financial status during their turnover as prescribed by a DILG memorandum.

Gov. Roberto Uy of Zamboanga Del Norte said former officials of his province did not even submit pertinent documents in the turnover. “Even if we finish three years of our term, we cannot finish paying all the debts,” Uy said during a forum. Davao del Sur Gov. Claude Bautista suggested that department heads should be coterminous with the top executive official due to their affiliations with them.

“It seems like they had a blood compact with the former officials because they are so loyal to them. I think we should have some elbow room to choose our officials,” Bautista said.

Long list

Instead of removing the employees, Gabito said Bautista should implement a performance monitoring system so that they will feel the pressure in the job.

“It is also provided by the Civil Service Commission to encourage careers in the government,” Gabito said.

Davide said he would proceed carefully in dealing with the long list of bills worth P789 million left behind by the previous administration.

The post-election list includes obligations to contractors for road projects at P480 million, buildings at P92.4 million, waterworks at P12.4 million and several hotels, restaurants and travel agencies.

A lot of accounts remain unsettled due to the lack of supporting documents, vouchers and the approval of the Provincial Board.

“This is a good exercise for us, we share experiences and maybe later on best practices on how to stand to the challenges that face our administration,” Davide told fellow governors. Correspondent Peter L. Romanillos