Mitra begins term

Palawan second district representative Abraham Kahlil B. Mitra had already sworn in as the new governor of Palawan.

Mitra, together with other elected provincial and municipal officials, took oath on June 30 as the province’s new chief executive and was inducted by Regional Trial Court’s Executive Judge Perfecto Pe Jr. Hundreds of supporters witnessed the event at the Capitol Pavilion.

In his inaugural address, he said that it was a long and dangerous journey before he reached the governorship.

“There were threats and immoral amount of money was spent against us,” Mitra stated. He stressed that the past years had been the most painful for him and was politically ugly.

Mitra also faced a legal battle when his political rivals filed a disqualification case against him questioning his residency status. The complaint stated that Mitra was not a resident of Aborlan as he had filed in his certificate of candidacy. The petitioners claimed that he still resides in Puerto Princesa, a highly-urbanized city that does not vote provincial officials.

Although the Commission on Elections did not favor him, the Supreme Court had issued a status quo ante order, allowing his votes to be counted during the canvassing of the May 2010 elections.

He won by a margin of 1,738 votes against closest rival businessman Jose Pepito Alvarez, and was proclaimed governor by the Provincial Board of Canvassers, even with a pending disqualification case before the Supreme Court (SC).

But a day before his inauguration, the SC ruled against Mitra’s disqualification.

“We won and won convincingly. I was proclaimed governor in no uncertain terms and the Supreme Court voted upholding the Palaweños decision. Indeed, justice was served,” he told his supporters.

‘I am a Palaweño’

“In my blood and in my heart, we are a Palaweño. No one and nobody can take that away,” was Mitra’s first lines in his inaugural address.

During the campaign period, the three-term congressman stressed that he is a true-blooded Palaweño. His father, the late House Speaker Ramon Mitra also served Palawan for many years.

The question on the legitimacy of his residency prompted Mitra to stress that he was a real Palaweño in his campaign sorties, and that such issues were only tactics of his political rivals to demean his name.

His rival for the gubernatorial seat, Alvarez, was from Cagayan de Oro City but had already transferred his residency in San Vicente town in Palawan.

In the formal turn-over of governorship during the oathtaking ceremony, outgoing Gov. Joel Reyes uttered the line: “I, Joel T. Reyes, a Palaweño, is honored and privileged to turn-over the authority (of the governor) to another Palaweño.”     

Prioritize HEAT

“Let us move forward to make Palawan a premier province in the Philippines,” the 40-year old bachelor said in his speech.

He was planning to build “long-term projects for long-term gains”, adding that the most successful projects and programs of the former administration would be reinforced.

But Mitra said that he would be prioritizing health, education, agriculture and tourism, which he coined as HEAT, in his term as governor. He said that these were the sectors closest to him.

“I will be personally coordinating with the Provincial Health Office to ensure the delivery of primary health care even to the remotest barangay,” he said.

Mitra also recognized the importance of the establishment of district hospitals, adding that “I might go out of my way to ask for donations to improve health facilities (in the province)”.

“We will also work to transform Palawan. . . to  a leader in education,” he said.

Included in his priorities were the uplifting of public school teachers’ capabilities and evaluation of the teacher’s pool program. He said that a reprogramming might happen if the evaluation to be done would bring out negative results.

The provincial government’s scholarship program would be continued, Mitra pointed, but it would be renamed as the Provincial Educational Assistance Program. However, he stressed that there would be a maintaining grade for students who would be in program.

“Students should be worthy to be called scholars,” he claimed.

The newly-installed governor also said that part of his program would be to prioritize food security in the province. Mitra pointed that agriculture in Palawan should be developed so as to achieve the goal.

First directive

“I am directing the Provincial Planning and Development Office to immediately organize the energy summit,” Mitra instructed. He said that it would be his first directive as governor.

In his speech, he pointed that the power supply is still one big problem hindering the province’s tourism industry. He said he was hoping that the energy summit he would be calling for would bring solutions to Palawan’s energy problem.

‘Uphold mining moratorium’

Mitra stated that he was constantly asked if he was anti- or pro-mining, since the mining industry is one big issue in the province.

He, however, did not give a direct answer but said that the 25-year mining moratorium on small-scale mining operations in Palawan would be upheld.

“The mining moratorium. . . will stay, implemented and will never be superseded in my administration,” he stressed in his inaugural address.

24/7 work

“If you want one worthy government, you should be ready 24/7,” Mitra stressed, saying that he works 24 hours a day and seven days a week if necessary.

Public service has no definite time, he pointed, adding that as governor, “I am not a difficult person to work with.

Along with this, he also enumerated the things that he would not like to see during his term as governor.

Among these were waste of government resources, habitual tardiness, excessive display of arrogance and wealth, mediocre work, misuse of government resources and abusive government officials and employees.

“Simply avoid the things that I detest and we will work well,” he told the provincial government officials and employees.

One Palawan

“In the next couple of years, there’ll be no more two camps,” Mitra said in his first press conference as provincial governor June 30, referring to political parties in the province.

Unlike the previous inauguration ceremonies, the oathtaking of elected officials took place in two separate venues. One was at the Capitol Pavilion while the other one was at the JCA Pavilion in Brgy. Bancao-Bancao.

Asked why there were two separate oathtaking ceremonies, Mitra said that it should be the other camp (Partido Pagbabago ng Palawan) who should be asked.

“Capitol is the seat of government and it’s a long-standing tradition for elected provincial and municipal officials to take their oath of office there,” he pointed.

He, however, added that: “We should be broad-minded enough to understand their situation. Perhaps, there are still wounds of battle.”

Mitra also stressed that although some provincial and municipal officials did not took oath the Capitol, they were still given proper courtesies. Their names were in the program and they were called, he said.

When asked about his reaction on the reported willingness of the Kilusan Love Malampaya (KLM) to meet with his camp, Mitra said: “If they say that they want to talk with us, they still have to explain about the accusations.”

KLM was the group who revealed the alleged misuse of Malampaya funds in infrastructure projects in the second district where Mitra served as congressman.

City execs get free land

The 12^th Puerto Princesa City Council, on their last regular session, approved the request of the City Government’s department heads and assistant department heads to allot a 1,000-square meter lot for each of them.

The request, despite questions and criticisms, was finally approved June 28.

During the report of the Committee on Ordinances and Legal Matters, Councilor Luis Marcaida III, its chairman, affirmed that they had “ascertained the legality of the donation of land.”

“It is an act of liberality and recognition to the department heads who have been with the City government for many years now,” Marcaida said. He added that , during their committee meeting, they had decided that the city government may give additional benefits to its employees.

Department heads and assistant department heads would be given a 1,000-squre meter lot each, reportedly in Brgy. Tagburos. Marcaida revealed that there would be 38 beneficiaries.

Asked if the beneficiaries are landless, he replies that it was needless to know that.

“There is no need to determine if the beneficiaries are landless because this is not a socialized housing project, but an act of generosity for their contribution to the city government,” he explained.

Councilor Feliberto Oliveros III also defended their approval.

“The logic of this is to reward those people who have been with the city for the past years and who have dedicated their time and effort to the city government,” Oliveros explained.

Vice-Mayor Lucilo Bayron also stated that “there was no reason for the Council not to approve it.”

A same request was also submitted by the rank and file employees but the councilors said that it was not pursued. Only the department heads’ request was followed-up.

Marcaida stressed that they were also recognizing the rank and file employees, but it was only the department heads who pursued their request for a parcel of land. The executives eagerly followed-up the matter that was why they were granted.

The Council assured, however, that as long as there are available funds, regular employees might also be given the same incentive.

VG Reyes seeks consensus on decisions

The newly-installed vice-governor, Clara “Fems” E. Reyes, stressed that she would like to be a “consensus builder” in the Provincial Board.

Reyes, wife of outgoing Gov. Joel Reyes, took oath as Palawan vice-governor on June 30 and would sit as the presiding officer of the 40^th Sangguniang Panlalawigan.

 “I think I have to reach out to the board members,” she said in a press conference.

The incoming Provincial Board would be composed of five board members from the administration and another five from the opposition.

“Before we go to the session hall, I will talk to them one by one. I am a democratic person and we would like to have unity. We are all thinking of the welfare of the Palaweños,” Reyes explained.

In her inaugural speech, she said that “political reconciliation is the first step to moving toward a common goal.”

Asked if she felt any pressure replacing former Vice-Gov. David Ponce de Leon, Reyes answered that although a first-time politician, “Palaweños’ problems are not new to me.”

“I am married to Joel who has been in public service for 22 years. Hindi ninyo lang ako nakikitang humaharap but I have always supported him,” she stressed.

“I have a big shoe to fill and I believe I can also do well. It’s time to build our province and there’s so much work to do that we should focus on,” she told the local media.

Incoming board members, on the other hand, also expect a harmonious relationship between them in their three-year stay at the highest policy-making body in the province.

“Political affiliations should be set aside inside the session hall,” Board Member Rolando Bonoan Jr said. He added that the welfare of the Palaweños should be their priority.

Asked about their stand on mining which had always been a big issue in the Provincial Board, Reyes said that they would just obey the law.

The previous Board was the one who adopted the 25-year moratorium on small-scale mining operations in Palawan. However, during the last regular sessions, the Board was questioned and criticized for approving the large-scale mining application of one company despite alleged irregularities on the approval of its municipal endorsement.

“I took oath and I have to follow the rules of the land. We have this mining law and I have to follow whatever is under the law,” Reyes stated.

Board Member Winston Arzaga, on the other hand, said that he would go with Gov. Abraham Mitra’s stand on mining.

“I intend to support the stand of the governor. I respect the 25-year mining moratorium,” Arzaga pointed.