Governance clash: Mayor vs vice mayor

VALENCIA, NEGROS ORIENTAL , Philippines— Relationships between the executive and the legislative branches of government in Valencia town went sour even before Mayor Edgar Teves ordered Vice Mayor Marciano Maravillas to vacate the latter’s office out of the executive building.

Teves confirmed to The Freeman he issued the directive so that the office used by Maravillas will be used instead as the office of the municipal treasurer. He explained that the vice mayor did not use that office at all because the latter was supposed to hold office at the Municipal Council building instead of the Municipal Hall.

Upon receipt of the order, Maravillas immediately pulled out from the Municipal Hall and was reportedly holding office at his residence.

Political observers said a strain the political relationship between the mayor and the vice mayor, who ran in tandem during the 2013 elections, was a result of what was considered as “non-accommodations” of requests by one with the other, and vice versa.

Teves had requested the Council for appropriation to purchase at P250 per square meter a 3.5-hectare lot at Barangay Mampas where he planned to construct a vocational school for students who could not afford a 4-year course.

The Council, presided by Maravillas, however rejected the mayor’s request contending that the site was far and hardly accessible to students from Barangays Malaunay and neighboring areas, as it would entail them additional transportation cost.

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Teves then countered that he planned to fetch the students from any origin and housed them in a dormitory for one week where they will be taught values formation and vocational skills with the help of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority.

During an ocular inspection of the Mampas lot, owned by Juan Miguel “Miggi” Romero, son of the late 2nd Dist Representative Miguel Romero, only Councilors Elsie Dagoy and Nessa Maturan, went with the team that included Municipal Administrator Romy Alviola. Dagoy, a teacher by profession, agreed with the mayor’s plan.

In a position paper, Maravillas clarified he was not against the putting up of a vocational school, but that he wanted it built not in Mampas, which was difficult to access by students from Barangays Palinpinon, Puhagan and Malaunay.

Besides the proposed site was hilly and not conducive for a school, he said. “Instead of going to Mampas, students will enroll instead in Dumaguete City where the schools are very accessible.”

In lieu of Mampas, Maravillas proposed an inventory of all real properties of the local government to determine which site would be better for a vocational school, and use the P8.8-million special education fund for the construction of the building.

Aside from the accessibility issue, the vice mayor said there were no pertinent documents to allow the use of the Mampas property, as well as unanswered details on operation and maintenance of the school, among others.

With the Council rejection, Teves said: “I respect his opinion, if the vice mayor disagrees with my proposal.”

Meanwhile in another issue, Teves refuted claims of Maravillas that the lattere’s daughter was not included in the list of the mayor’s recommendees for hiring as a nurse of the Municipal Health Office. Teves said Maravillas’ daughter was number one in the list but, after the test, was not included in the six who were hired.  (FREEMAN)

Source: philstar.com - Region