Guv belies using position for candidacy

LEYTE Governor Mimietta Bagulaya said she is not using her position just to advance her candidacy for board member.

Bagulaya, who was serving out her term as vice governor before she was elevated to her current position, is running for board member in Leyte’s third district.

“No, no. I am not using my position as governor of the province although I do visit the district. But all my visits were official and on my capacity as a governor,” Bagulaya said in a forum
“Express it at the Park” held at the Leyte Park Resort.

She, however, admitted that she has been visiting the district of Leyte but on official capacity as the governor of the province.

According to her, she is to visit on Monday the town of Calubian to distribute financial assistance and food items to the victims of a fire incident that recently hit the said town.

Aside from Calubian, the third district of Leyte covers the towns of San Isidro, Tabango, Villaba and Leyte-Leyte where the governor is a registered voter.

Bagulaya was thrust to her position as governor when then Governor Jericho “Icot” Petilla was named as secretary of the Department of Energy (DOE) by President Benigno Aquino III.

As the new governor of the province, Bagulaya would enjoy all the perks and privileges of such position until after a new governor assumed the post.

The incoming governor, Leopoldo Dominico Petilla, is running unopposed and is the younger brother of the former governor.

Meantime, Bagulaya said that while the period of her tenure as governor is only about eight months, she would like to leave a mark among the people of Leyte.

For one, she said she is doing her best to enhance the culture and heritage of Leyte by coming up some programs.

She also said that she has initiated for the rehabilitation of the Crucified Image of Jesus Christ along Magsaysay Boulevard, this city.

The area could not only be a tourist attraction but could even be a pilgrimage site, Bagulaya said.

The Crucified Image of Jesus Christ was commissioned during the time of former governor and now Palo Mayor Remedios Petilla. The image also signifies the map of Leyte. (Leyte Samar Daily Express)