A New Way of Doing Things

After June 30, 2019 newly elected city mayor Benjamin Magalong will officially sit down as the Chief Executive of the City.

But even as he waits to take over the reins of the city government he had already begun a couple of weeks back, along with his close supporters, to assess and evaluate the prevailing situation within this local government unit.

In fact this writer was informed that last Tuesday Mayor elect Magalong met with all of the department heads of the city government in order to be briefed about the work that has been going on and the responsibility being handled in the dispensation of public service to the people of Baguio.

The briefing, which may indicate a portent of things to come and how the new mayor will conduct his job, reportedly started at 8:00 in the morning and ended around 10:00 in the evening.

At one point in the briefing Mayor-elect Magalong was heard to have said that he is there as a leader and not as a politician, and that as a leader his job is to inspire other leaders in the city government to promote the bests interests of the Baguio.

What he said in that meeting is quite interesting in that he has drawn a line in the sand as to the expectations, either real or imagined, of how he will be doing his job as the top honcho of the city.

In hindsight it may well also serve as a warning that his new administration will not entertain and be burdened by any political machinations that will only serve the vested interests of some groups.

Of course the new mayor understands that his office is a political one but his commitment to implement a new way of doing things not as a politician but as a leader gives us a glimpse of how things will be run in city hall for the next three years.

And perhaps in that context we will witness an overhaul, may be a radical one at that, of the bureaucracy in the city government towards the objective of making it leaner and meaner as well as more responsive to the needs of the locality.

Likewise under the administration of mayor elect Magalong we may get to see lesser complaints coursed through the 8888 hotline of the national government.

To be sure there are manychanges that have to be made in the city government if it intends to be more pro-active and responsive in addressing the various concerns of the city.

Former city mayorMauricio Domogan has done a yeoman’s job of resuscitating the city and transforming it into a modern and bustling community out of the ashes of the great earthquake in 1990.

For that we as Baguio-born residents will forever be grateful for his efforts.

For his part, Magalong has committed to bring a fresh perspective in how the city government should be run and how it should serve the people of Baguio.

If the recent briefing with the department heads is any indication then indeed we can already be sure that in this new administration of mayor Magalong there will be a new way, and hopefully a better way, of doing things.

Sideglance

Amianan Balita Ngayon