ILIGAN City — Former city councilor Roy Openiano expressed elation over a recent political development in Iligan, as Rep. Celso G. Regencia visited the office of Mayor Frederick W. Siao in an effort to foster a unified direction for the city’s goals and development.
Openiano, speaking on a radio program, said the encounter occurred early last week. He noted that people cheered when the two officials were seen hugging, smiling and shaking hands.
However, former city mayor Lawrence Ll. Cruz struck a cautious tone, stating that some observers were “skeptical” and found the scene hard to believe.
According to Openiano, Regencia’s Facebook post indicated that the congressman “had followed the advice of his youthful chief of staff,” his daughter, lawyer-CPA Charisse Regencia, to unite “for the good of the city.”
Both Regencia and Siao are fresh into their second terms as congressman and mayor, respectively, and have been at odds until recently.
Regencia had filed graft charges against Siao with the Ombudsman in Davao City on Feb. 18, related to the Palao market project. The project began under Regencia’s mayoral administration but remained unfinished due to numerous extensions requested by contractor BM Marketing.
Criticisms of the project, including some from Cebu City residents writing to local newspapers about the contractor’s other projects, led Siao to terminate BM Marketing, citing a “substandard” project.
This termination occurred before Regencia filed the Ombudsman case, and Siao subsequently reiterated his statements, citing sources from the project implementation unit, other engineers and the Commission on Audit.
Earlier, when Siao was the city’s lone district congressman, he had attempted unification efforts with then-Mayor Regencia, but to no avail.
These efforts were widely covered by reporters and supporters from both sides, who engaged in “demolition jobs” against Siao’s “blue” team and Regencia’s “red” team across various mediums, including social media and block-time broadcasts.
Openiano suggested that the “youthful” ideas of the congressman’s chief of staff and Mayor Siao’s newly elected councilor, Derrick Siao, “might have a hand” in this recent development.
He added that Charisse Regencia and Derrick Siao were classmates in school.
