THE vice mayor of the Isabela, Negros Occidental took oath as mayor to succeed the late Mayor Enrique Montilla III, who died last Thursday and will be buried on April 18.
Vice Mayor Joselito Malabor and number one Councilor Henry Foscablo, who took over as vice mayor, were sworn into office by Governor Alfredo Marañon Jr. in rites held at the Provincial Capitol.
“Me, my family, and the people of Isabela are mourning our mayor's death. He left a legacy in the town. We will continue to unite for the development of our town,” Malabor said.
The new mayor said he will appoint four co-terminus employees with his full trust and confidence to help him in running the municipal government.
He added that the town fiesta will proceed as scheduled on April 19 to 22, but a major re-shuffling that will include casual and job order employees will be implemented after the festivity.
“We will form a screening committee to evaluate who among the employees are performing,” Malabor said.
The one who will assume the vacated post in the Sangguniang Bayan has not been named yet.
The governor said: “For now they are still mourning. I advised them to reach out to other party to unite for the good of the town.”
P500,000 bounty
Malabor said their family continues to seek justice for the death of his older brother, then Fifth District Board Member Renato Malabor, who was gunned down on June 28, 2015.
He announced on Monday that he is offering a bounty of P500,000 for the arrest of the suspects.
“I am thankful to authorities for their efforts to give justice to my brother. As the mayor now, I would like to offer P500,000 for information that will lead to the arrest of the suspects,” he said.
