ILIGAN City ― A former department head of city hall yesterday alerted the transition team of the incoming city mayor on the “possible deletion” of files and passwords on some projects and programs of the outgoing administration.
Architect Gil Balondo, in a statement on air, told former city councilor Roy Openiano of this possibility as he had been a member of the transition team of then-incoming Mayor Lawrence Ll. Cruz when the latter won over former Mayor Franklin M. Quijano but stopped short of giving details. Balondo, to note, had been department head of the city planning and development office.
It was then learned that Openiano is the head of the transition team of incoming Mayor Frederick Siao, who won over Vice Mayor Jemar Vera Cruz in this month’s elections even as Col. Leony Roy Ga heads it on the side of outgoing Mayor Celso G. Regencia.
Openiano said that the two teams already had the first meeting on May 23 with the presence of Department of Interior and Government, City Director Edward Bhagwani, although the latter had come “late” he said even as Regencia was not around too as he was said to be attending the flag-raising ceremony.
Openiano said that most of the departments in the course of their meeting were “somewhat deserted” when they went over with the computers not being worked on by some personnel.
Although there are many items to be dealt with, he said that these are categorized into four: the first is financial, the second is personnel, the third contract, and the fourth is projects and programs. He added that he too had been a member of the transition team in Malacanang when then-President Fidel Ramos took over from President Corazon Aquino as he was a member of the Presidential Management Staff then of Ramos.
He then thanked Balondo for such reminders as they have to be thorough, especially in such big projects as the Palao Market or the P100 million budget for the vaccinations.
“We are not witch-hunting,” Openiano said.
