With the united opposition sealing its bid to fill up the highest ranking executive and legislative elective positions in Dumaguete, Mayor-elect Manuel Sagarbarria is hopeful for a better and improved socio-economic and political landscape for this capital city of Negros Oriental.
The local candidates of the United Nationalist Alliance garnered a sweeping majority of the legislative council with eight seats, plus the vice mayor sitting as presiding officer and the local chief executive post as well.
Mayor Sagarbarria (Nationalist People’s Coalition), who won by an overwhelming margin over rival candidate and erstwhile Vice Mayor Alan Gel Cordova (LP) announced that with a fresh mandate, his first order of the day would be to review his administration’s successes and failures in the past three years.
Sagarbarria won with 35,285 votes as opposed to Cordova’s 19,745 votes. He won in all of the 30 barangays in Dumaguete.
It is time to move on and we need to look at what has to be changed, but there is always room for improvement, he said.
Sagarbarria’s administration had seen rough sailing in the past recent years with controversies arising from allegations hurled by councilors who ran in the May 13 polls under the Liberal Party.
The biggest hit at Sagarbarria was the controversial “disclosure” by the LP candidates of the city being “bankrupt”, which was hurled at him at the height of the election campaign period.
But, City Treasurer Christina Merced spoke up, brushing aside the bankruptcy allegation and announcing that the city had millions of pesos in the bank.
Mayor Sagarbarria said he is thankful the electorate did not bite the bullet and believed the black propaganda being hurled against him, adding that the city government has some P190 million in savings.
On his third and final term as Dumaguete mayor, Sagarbarria said he is also confident of a healthy relationship between the executive and legislative branches, what with the majority of the opposition bets elected into office.
In the May 13 polls, UNA candidates who made it include Vice Mayor Woodrow Maquiling, Sr., who defeated LP bet and incumbent Councilor Joe Kenneth Arbas; and city councilors-elect lawyer Franklin Esmeña Jr., Jose Vicente Imbo, Nilo Sayson, lawyer Saleto Erames, newbies Peter Catan and Lani Ramon, former city councilor Nelson Patrimonio, and Dan Leon.
Only two from the Liberal Party, incumbent councilors Antonio Remollo and Manuel Arbon, made it in the Magic 10.
The Mayor said he is looking forward to seeing changes for the City when the newly-elected city officials buckle down to work beginning July 1st. (Judaline F Partlow/Lily O Ramos/Media ng Bayan)
