Cebu City fetes Charter Day awardees

CEBU, Philippines - In line with the celebration of Cebu City’s 78th Charter Day, City Hall last Sunday awarded its most outstanding departments and employees.

In handing the recognition, Mayor Michael Rama challenged all recipients to continue their good performance even when other people cast doubts on them.

“Work without thinking of awards,” he said, as he reminded them not to be consumed by the desire for fame and glory.

The Cebu City Legal Office was chosen as Outstanding Department and received P50,000 and a plaque of recognition.

City Attorney Jerone Castillo accepted the award along with his 15 “young, dedicated, and brilliant” lawyers.

He took pride of the fact that his office has not lost a single case since 2013, when he took over as the office’s chief.  Castillo said that before he took over as city legal officer, the office received flak due to several issues and that there was lack of cooperation within.

He said that in appointing him, Rama challenged him to run his office like a legal firm, which he said was a challenge. Castillo, though, was glad to have accomplished it because he had the “best team of lawyers in the city.”

“We want to make sure that we will fight until the end. With God as our source of our wisdom, and with the law as our guide, and with these people beside me, who can beat against the City Legal?” he said during his acceptance speech.

He said that one of the biggest cases that his office fought for was that against the heirs of the late Reverend Father Vicente Rallos. The Regional Trial Court had ruled for the city government and ordered that part of the South Road Properties and the city’s garnished bank accounts be returned to the city.

Today, he would be facing another legal battle by defending the P20,000 calamity assistance given to each of the City Hall officials and employees last December 2013 before the Department of Interior and Local Government -7.

Meanwhile, City Agriculturist Joelito Baclayon, who has been in public service for 22 years, received P50,000 and plaque of recognition after he was awarded as the Outstanding Department Head.

Baclayon said he started as agriculture technician in 1993 and that he worked with utmost commitment and dedication to improve the lives of the city’s farmers in the upland barangays.

He said creating an organization of farmers in the upland barangays was one of his unforgettable contributions for the city.

The other awardees were of the Cebu City Medical Center’s Fulton Lunod rank and file outstanding employee followed by finalists Jean Marie Brual (Department of Manpower Development and Placement) and Sofrorio Tabigul (City Accountant’s Office); DMDP’s Anthony Aguhar as outstanding section head with finalists Porcia Basmayor (Department of Social Worker and Services) and Phoebe Ina Oracoy (City Budget Office).

The outstanding Division head was General Services Office’s Alberto Bontuyan as Outstanding Division Head with finalist Mark Jason Tirol (Office of the City Accountant) while GSO’s Ronaldo Malacora was picked as Outstanding Assistant Department Head.

Rama also handed out the special Mayor’s Awards to Castillo; Engr. Jose Marie Poblete (Department of Engineering and Public Works); Apollo Dante, Ceromedes Tindoy, and Guillermo Viola of DEPW; Atty. Dominic Diño (City Administrator’s Office); Vicente Esmeña (City Mayor’s Office); Raquel Arce (City Markets Administration); Ma. Suzanne Ardosa (DMDP).

Belinda  Navascues, Judith Cabardo, Elmer Labella, Simeon Romarate, Candelaria Arado, Juvelyn Montecillo, Atty. Janeses Ponce, Atty Collin Rosell of the City Mayor’s Office;  Cebu City Traffic Operations chief Jonathan Tumulak; Atty. Leslie Ann Reyes (City Legal Office); City Treasurer Diwa Cuevas; Dr. Ester Concha and Lucia Mahusa of DSWS; and Grace Luardo of the Department of Public Services. (FREEMAN)