Young Turks now reign in Baguio City

BAGUIO CITY — Only in their 30s, Reinaldo Bautista Jr. and Leandro Yangot Jr. took over the helm of the Pines City as acting mayor and vice mayor, respectively, yesterday, two days before the city celebrates its 97th Charter Day.

Encouraged by their youthful vigor, these young Turks want to put more action in the city government than what transpired during the term of suspended Mayor Braulio Yaranon, a 79-year-old former regional trial court judge.

Last week, Malacañang upheld the one-year suspension of Yaranon for grave abuse of authority and misconduct on the complaint of Jadewell Parking Systems Corp., a local pay parking company.

"I would describe my brand of administration as more of an aggressive type rather than what it was — conservative," said the 37-year-old Bautista.

Bautista took his oath of office before Everdina Doctor, Cordillera director of the Department of the Interior and Local Government, yesterday.

The acting mayor, who ran and won under the same ticket as Yaranon’s in the 2004 polls, however, said he would continue what the suspended mayor had envisioned for the city — "bringing Baguio back to the people" — but more with raging action.

Bautista said Session Road, the city’s main thoroughfare and show window to the world, ought to be revived to its former glory.

To help realize Bautista’s plan, a group has pledged to donate flower boxes to enliven Session Road, which many believe has been neglected. Bautista said its sidewalks must also be repaired.

Bautista promised to address this and other concerns like the environment, infrastructure, peace and order and traffic as well as harmonious relations with the city council.

Bautista said his administration, which will last for only 11 months, will focus on basic issues, including that involving Jadewell.

The city council, still presided over by Bautista, voted for the repeal of the traffic ordinance that resulted in Jadewell’s pay parking contract. The repeal resolution needs one more reading before it is finally approved.

Although he and Yaranon ran under the same ticket, Bautista, in the past two years, had bewailed the rocky relationship between the city’s executive and legislative branches.

This division had resulted in differing views on the actions taken by the city council. Bautista had been vocal on this issue, saying that his leadership of the city council had been questioned because of Yaranon’s different stand on issues.

"I am really disappointed that this city council has had the most vetoed resolutions and ordinances," he once said.

This time though, Bautista is confident that his administration will work closely with the city council.

"Since we are riding the same bus now, me being the substitute driver, I wish to steer the whole group to a path that will really (move) Baguio forward," he said.

"All the plans are in place. In fact, I don’t really have to make new plans. With the guidance of the city council, ordinances will be implemented now," he said.

During his two-year administration, Yaranon scrapped the regular legislative-executive meetings, which many local executives believed was his way of distancing himself from the councilors, with whom he had met in only two occasions.

"They know what they are doing. They do not need my guidance," Yaranon earlier said, adding that the legislative-executive meetings were just an added expenditure for the city government.

"I don’t intend to solve all the problems of Baguio, but I intend, within the short time (that I will act as mayor), to start small," Bautista said.

He said he would start with refurbishing Session Road and then Burnham Park, and later address the problem of the city market.

"In the meantime, I have to do what is doable," he said.

In the same breath, the 38-year-old Yangot, who also ran under the Yaranon-Bautista ticket in the 2004 polls, is gearing for a more action-oriented city council under his watch.

"Although I think the principle of check and balance in government must be observed, this will not jeopardize the objective of (having) one direction (for) the legislature and the executive (department)."