ILIGAN City ― In a statement to reporters here, lawyer Vermin Quimco dared city officials led by Mayor Celso Regencia to resign “en masse.”
This is following accusations and complaints of a “very slow” response in giving aid to the people during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Grace Saquilabon and Milagros Christine Orbe have already resigned,” he said adding that city officials whom the city residents have not heard of during the outbreak should follow suit.
Saquilabon, to note, is the head of the City Social Welfare Department here while Orbe is the head of the city’s waterworks system.
Quimco also cited the stockpiles of sacks of rice in the city public plaza that has yet to be distributed to the people.
In response, Vice Mayor Jemar Vera Cruz denied that Saquilabon and Orbe resigned from their posts and that they are “just on leave.”
Vera Cruz added that they had been busy attending to the assistance being given to the constituents here.
When asked about why the stocks of sacks of rice at the plaza have not been distributed, Vera Cruz was silent for a few seconds and later said these “would be distributed soon.”
Quimco argued that city officials could not give relief aid fast enough because “they always in meetings and meetings and more meetings” and are always in the process of “doing processing and more processing” when the city should have been giving of assistance to the residents.
He added that Lanao del Norte and Lanao del Sur have been fast in assisting the constituents because they have been using their local funds and “not dependent on the national funds.”
For his part, Vera Cruz called Quimco’s complaints and his call for their mass resignation as “just politicking.” (Nora Soriño and Sita Asequia)
