CEBU City Councilor Dave Tumulak asked the more than a hundred barangay personnel of Ermita not to resign following the suspension of all their village officials.
The workers earlier said they will resign should their suspended officials be replaced with non-residents of Ermita.
Suspended earlier by the Office of the Ombudsman were barangay captain Felicisimo Rupinta and his seven councilors -- Marky Rizaldy Miral, Antonieto Flores, Ryan Jay Rosas, Alio Tamundo, Domingo Ando, Maria Bianghug and Wilbert Flores -- after they allegedly failed to cooperate with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency-Central Visayas during a drug raid last year.
The suspension order was served to the village officials last January 31.
But Tumulak asked the barangay personnel on Friday to wear their uniforms and “stand proud” despite the village's current political situation.
The personnel, for their part, brought up several concerns, such as the processing of clearances and permits, garbage collection and repair of utilities.
Tumulak said he will help the barangay without any political agenda, and as an elected official, he will sign all the requests of Ermita to be submitted to the Office of the Mayor.
He said he is addressing them as a “volunteer” and not as an appointee. (RTF/SunStar Cebu)