BY GILBERT P. BAYORAN / CHRYSEE G. SAMILLANO
Being a neophyte local chief executive, Mayor Alfredo “Albee” Benitez yesterday asked for patience from Bacolod City Hall department heads, stressing that he is open to suggestions in the performance of his job.
“I will ask you if you are the mayor, what will you do in your department, you tell me and I will listen,” Benitez said during his first flag ceremony at the Bacolod City Government Center yesterday.
“And that is where we will make a difference,” he added.
Benitez was joined by Bacolod Rep. Greg Gasataya and some members of the Bacolod City Council in the flag raising ceremony.
“I always believe that we should strengthen the institution not the personalities. I will be leading this city based on performance guided by the output and the result, not by personal loyalty,” he stressed.
Benitez also called on the City Hall employees and elected officials to serve the people of Bacolod to the best of their ability.
MEETINGS
Benitez also held a series of meetings during his first day of office at the Bacolod City Government yesterday.
He asked department heads whatever they needed to make their services more efficient, during a meeting at the MassKara Hall.
He also said there are no plans to reshuffle department and office heads for the meantime, when asked during a media interview.
Benitez also issued a memorandum directing job order casuals who have been transferred to return to their mother units.
He said he has not seen the actual number of job order casuals but definitely, he will only provide the manpower needed by the departments or offices. They will review the organization and retain only those whose jobs are relevant and perhaps make the position permanent.
He will also look into the budget for the police to validate if indeed, only 25 percent of it remains.
In an inspection of the Bacolod City public markets on Sunday, Benitez said he noticed it was dirty, with unattended waste and that sidewalks vendors are proliferating.
We will try to assess what would be the solution, he added.*
