Given the “abnormal times,” Acting Mayor Amadeo Seno Jr. was prompted to request key department heads to postpone their leaves of absence.
City Administrator Serafin Blanco, City Attorney Erwin Rommel Heyrosa, Housing and Urban Development Officer Frank Guillena and Acting Human Resource Officer Janet Trinidad wanted to go on leave but were all asked to report for duty yesterday.
“This is the time they should cooperate because of the vacuum,” Seno said in an interview.
Market supervisor Antonio Taylo tendered his resignation last week, but he doesn’t know what action was taken.
Taylo told Sun.Star Cebu last night that he worked for the Mandaue City Government because of Mayor Thadeo Ouano and his family.
With Ouano’s preventive suspension for six months, Taylo said he finds no reason to continue working for the City.
Mayor Ouano is among 19 local public officials ordered preventively suspended by the Office of the Ombudsman while it looks deeper into the allegedly overpriced purchase of lamps and streetlights for the Asean summit last January.
The total contract price for the 2,310 lamps and streetlights amounted to P365.87 million.
Seno took over the top post at City Hall, while City Councilor Jonas Cortes was sworn in as acting vice mayor last week. Both are running for mayor in the May 14 elections.
Damian Enriquo “Kookie” Ouano, deputy executive director of the Traffic Enforcement Development and Management (Tedman), also took a leave last week.
A dispatcher at the Tedman office said that with Kookie on leave, Tedman public information officer Domingo Cortes is temporarily in charge of the office.
Emmarie Dolores “Lollipop” Ouano-Dizon and Cheryl Ouano are also on indefinite leave as executive secretaries of the Office of the Mayor.
Dizon, daughter of suspended mayor Ouano, said in a separate interview that she resigned as chairman of the Ms. Mandaue beauty pageant, which is now on its ninth year.
Cheryl, Dizon’s sister-in-law, reportedly resigned from her chairmanship of the Mantawi Festival activities.
Sun.Star Cebu called Cheryl’s mobile phone but was not able to reach her for confirmation last night.
Seno was informed yesterday that the public market was in disarray, following Taylo’s resignation.
Ambulant vendors reportedly proliferated and illegal structures became more visible.
Seno immediately appointed market staff member Mussolini Oliva as officer-in-charge.
Seno spent his first full day as local chief executive hopping from one meeting to another yesterday.
He said that he has yet to talk with Trinidad so he will know exactly who and how many filed leaves of absence or resigned.
He asked Blanco, Heyrosa, Trinidad and Guillena to reconsider their decisions to take their leave.
“They should stay on to assist me in normalizing operations,” Seno said.
Blanco said in an interview last week that he is taking a “much-needed break.”
Seno said that if the officials go ahead with their leave, he will have to appoint others to temporarily head their respective offices.
Seno also tried to reach Assistant City Prosecutor Bienvenido Mabanto, a member of the Tedman board, to ask about the traffic enforcers but was unable to contact him.
Tricycles were seen stopping to pick up passengers in non-designated areas at the back of City Hall yesterday.
Seno also requested Blanco to go over the preparations for the city’s fiesta and the annual Ms. Mandaue pageant.
Dizon told Sun.Star Cebu that she resigned from her chairmanship of the pageant because she wanted to focus more on the campaign of her brother, Thadeo Jovito “Jonkie” Ouano, who is running for mayor against Seno and Cortes.
She pointed out that her father appointed her to the position in 1998.
However, Dizon is willing to help whoever is appointed to take over the pageant. She hopes that preparations will be done in time considering that the pageant is scheduled in three weeks.
Seno has yet to talk to Mantawi Foundation Inc. executive director Alfonso Albaño regarding the Mantawi Festival.
The festival, which features a parade and a contest of at least 10 dance contingents, is scheduled on May 5.
