PB okays appointments of Durano, Ceniza

CEBU, Philippines — The Cebu Provincial Board has formally concurred with the appointments of Atty. Joseph Felix Mari “Ace” Durano as provincial administrator and Atty. Guiller V. Ceniza as provincial legal officer during its third regular session held yesterday.

Governor Pamela Baricuatro herself attended the session to witness the confirmation of her key appointments, which took effect on July 1, 2025.

Durano and Ceniza were appointed pursuant to Sections 463 and 465(b)(1)(v) of Republic Act No. 7160 or the Local Government Code of 1991, which authorizes the local chief executive to appoint department heads subject to the approval of the Provincial Board.

Board Member Nelson Mondigo of the 4th District sponsored both resolutions --No. 28 for Ceniza and No. 29 for Durano-- which were unanimously passed without opposition.

In his message to the board, Durano thanked them for his confirmation. He said his main responsibility is to execute the priorities set by Baricuatro.

“I look forward to working closely with the Provincial Board on behalf of the governor,” he said.

Durano is a graduate of the Ateneo Law School and previously served as the secretary of the Department of Tourism from 2004 to 2010. He also served as Cebu’s 5th District representative for three terms and returned to Congress from 2013 to 2016.

Before being appointed provincial administrator, Durano was tapped by Baricuatro to serve as special adviser for economic and political affairs.

Ceniza also appeared before the board to thank them for being the new provincial legal officer.

“I am confident to discharge my function,” Ceniza said.

“This task that was given to me by the Honorable Governor Baricuatro is a challenge which I willfully take, your honor,” he added.

Ceniza began his career in public service as chief accountant at Cebu Technological University, a post he held for six years while studying Law at the University of San Carlos as a working student.

After passing the Bar, he briefly entered private practice before joining the Cebu City Government’s legal team. He later served as Danao City Legal Officer for nine years.

During the deliberation, Board Member Stanley Caminero emphasized the crucial role of the Provincial Legal Office (PLO) in providing timely legal opinions on legislative matters. He noted that based on past experience, various committees often require timely legal opinions from the PLO, especially when rushing to finalize their reports.

Ceniza holds a Bachelor of Science in Commerce major in Accounting from USC, completed in 1984. He now brings 18 years of public service experience to his new post.

Meanwhile, the Cebu Provincial Government was able to collect ?4.5 billion in revenue from its local and external sources for the first six months of the year.

Based on the income receipts released by the Provincial Treasurer's Office signed by its head Roy Salubre to the media, the Capitol's share from the National Tax Allotment contributed a huge chunk to its revenue collection. It amounted to ?3.1 billion covering six months of share.

The share from the Government Owned and Controlled Corporations and Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office is at ?659,243.48, while the share from other national tax collection amounts to ?904,147.55.

As to the local sources collection, the Capitol has able to generate ?1.3 billion from the tax revenue, fees and charges, collection from the two Capitol-run terminals and from the 16 provincial and district hospitals.

The same document from the Provincial Treasurers Office, showed that the total tax revenue of the province from January to June reached to ?556 million.

The tax revenue is composed of the real property tax (?340 million), amusement tax ?2.4 million, franchise tax (?15.3 million), professional tax (?1.1 million), property transfer tax (?41.1 million), tax on delivery trucks and vans (?9.5 million), tax/fees on sand and gravel and other quarry products (?128 million) as well as fines and penalties from local taxes and business.

For the total fees and charges, the revenue collected was ?223 million.

Under this local source are the permit fees, registration fees, clearance and certification fees, inspection fees, processing fees, enhancement fees, regulatory frees, and fines.

The Capitol has been able to collect also income from rents of stalls in Sugbo Sentro Fuente (?2.7 million), Sugbo Sentro IT Park (?3.3 million), and Sugbo Sentro Capitol (?145,000).

Filinvest has also paid the Capitol ?44.3 million since January this year; Department of Agrarian Reform which is also renting a space at the legislative building also paid ?499 million while the National Commission of Senior Citizens  paid ?695 million.

The Cebu South Bus Terminal and the Cebu North Bus Terminal also contributed ?52.2 million to the Capitol's coffers for the first six months this year, while provincial hospitals generated ?322 million. — (FREEMAN)