Pablo John apologizes for no-show at PB

Capitol consultant Pablo John Garcia yesterday apologized to the Provincial Board, which assailed his failure and that of two department heads to appear, as scheduled, at the session to talk on the pending plans of personnel outsourcing and disposition of heavy equipment.

Pablo John said there could be a lapse in communication because the two department heads and he only came in late to the session, about 10 minutes after the session had adjourned.

The session started at 2:05pm and was adjourned at 2:45pm. But through this period, Pablo John said he thought it had not begun yet because he saw Vice Governor Greg Sanchez and two PB members at a press conference called for by Governor Gwen Garcia at the time.

"If I had offended them, I apologized for my lapse in judgement but we actually did it in good faith because we still arrived," said Garcia who was also at the press-con, adding that their absence at the session should not be blown-up anymore.

The presence of the two department heads was needed in the slated agenda of the session but Pablo John must be with them also, in line with Gwen's memorandum -issued before she left for Europe - requiring him to accompany any department head whenever called to the PB.

But the PB members at the session were angry, saying the absence of the summoned officials was "an insult" and that they "were taken for granted."

The PB had summoned provincial engineering acting head Eulogio Pelayre and provincial general services acting head Bernard Calderon as resource people to the pending proposals at the provincial legislature.

Pelayre and Calderon had confirmed twice, through provincial secretary Anecita Pasaylo, their attendance in the session. But they failed to do so and waited for Pablo John to be available.

PB member Gabriel Luis Quisumbing said of them, "If they feel they are not competent to be present at the PB, perhaps they have no more business in the provincial government."

"The department heads did not want to violate the governor's order not to go to the session without Pablo John," Bolo argued. PB member Agnes Magpale, after taking over PB member Joven Mondigo as the presiding officer, put Quisumbing's motion to vote.

The resolution was adopted with seven votes from Quisumbing himself, Gastardo, Mondigo, Carmiano Kintanar, Victoria Corominas, Raul Bacaltos, and Estrella Yapha. The only no vote came from Bolo while one abstention came from PB member Rose Marie Durano.

Sanchez is officially the acting governor until July 13 even if Gwen already arrived from the Netherlands, cutting short her official business there to lead the gathering of local government officials in throwing their support to the beleaguered President Gloria Arroyo.