• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Having served as Negros Oriental governor for barely three months, Carlo Jorge Joan “Guido” Reyes, passed away on Wednesday.
The death of Reyes was confirmed yesterday by Provincial Administrator Atty. Karen Lissette Molas, who was informed by Guihulngan City Vice Mayor Eunica Reyes.
Vice Gov. Manuel Sagarbarria is expected assume the governorship of Negros Oriental, following the death of Reyes.
In the social media account of the Negros Oriental provincial government, Molas said she is not authorized by the family to disclose other details and circumstances of his illness and death.
Molas described Gov. Reyes as a “kind and generous leader.”
She further said she is hoping that the legacy of Gov. Reyes in public service will live on and inspire others to do the same.
Reyes, then vice governor of Negros Oriental, replaced Gov. Roel Degamo, who was assassinated inside his residential compound in Pamplona, Negros Oriental, on March 4.
Pamplona Mayor Janice Degamo, wife of then Gov. Degamo, said the sudden departure of Gov. Reyes has left them all in a “state of shock and profound sadness.”
Governor Reyes was not only a respected figure in our province, but also a dear friend and ally to my late husband, Governor Roel Ragay Degamo, the mayor said.
Their friendship and collaboration were emblematic of their dedication to public service and their shared vision for the betterment of our province, as they worked tirelessly to uplift the lives of Negrenses, Mayor Degamo said.
Reyes was formerly the mayor of Guihulngan City, Negros Oriental.
SUCCESSION
Degamo was the number one board of member of Negros Occidental who became vice governor after then Gov. Emilio Macias died, several weeks after winning the 2010 gubernatorial race.
Not long after, then Vice Gov. Agustin Perdices, who succeeded Macias as governor, passed away 2011, which elevated Degamo from the position of vice governor to governor.
Similarly, when Degamo was killed on March this year, he was succeeded by Vice Gov. Reyes, his running mate in the 2022 elections, who passed away on Wednesday, reportedly from a terminal illness, at a private hospital in Metro Manila.
SAGARBARRIA IS NEW GUV
Negros Oriental Vice Gov. Manuel “Chaco” Sagarbarria yesterday assumed the governorship of Negros Oriental, following death of Gov. Carlo Jorge Joan “Guido” Reyes.
Sagarbarria took his oath before Regional Trial Court Executive Judge Gerardo Paguio, in the presence of Department of Interior and Local Government provincial director Farah Diba Gentuya, his family, and supporters at the Capitol Sangguniang Panlalawigan Session Hall.
This is to ensure the continuity of the delivery of basic services in the provincial government, while mourning the death of Gov. Reyes, a press statement from the provincial government of Negros Oriental said.
Following the oath taking of Sagarbarria as the new Negros Oriental governor, number one board member Jake Reyes assumed the position of vice governor.*
