Friday, August 10, 2007 Speak out: Alcantara’s outstanding mayor By Margie ‘Mickey’ Pableo
HE IS mayor of a remote and small town in southwestern part of Cebu.
But Mayor Benjamin Lobitaña of Alcantara is silently performing his duties.
On the occasion of the town’s annual fiesta on Aug. 27, we caught a glimpse of his style of governance that is worthy of emulation.
“Good governance is the legacy I want to leave to my people,” says the 59-year-old chemical engineer.
For Mayor Lobitaña, good governance can be equated with hard work to improve the quality of life of every Alcantarahanon.
And he intends to achieve this by delivering the basic services due to the people.
“For three consecutive terms, I have managed to deliver to my dear constituents various infrastructure and other projects,” he said.
The mayor reports on time and stays in his office most of the time when he is not inspecting on-going projects.
His performance was validated by the 2006 Local Governance Performance Management System study which showed that Alcantara had “a high performance index on the areas of administration and social services.”
Lobitana also attributed this to the cooperation of the Council led by Vice Mayor Margarito Basilisco.
The Council is one with him in implementing the mission of “improving the delivery of basic services through partnership with government and private sectors, non-government organizations and civil society organizations.”
Lobitaña said he draws support from his wife, a certified public accountant by profession, his two daughters and most especially from God.
“In times of trouble I call on God. I go to church and talk to Him.”
Lobitana does not have regrets in entering politics saying it is a privilege serving his people.
And the people recognize this and have given him fresh mandates.
“My greatest achievement is winning the hearts and minds of my people and this warms my heart and inspires me to even work harder for the improvement of the lives of my constituents.”
