Yu assumes office as acting mayor of San Jorge

By ELI C. DALUMPINES (PIA Samar)
March 11, 2007

CATBALOGAN, Samar  –  To avoid possible disruption of services of the municipal government of San Jorge, Samar due to the absence of the mayor, Vice Mayor Marcelina Yu issued an executive memorandum to the town officials on February 26 that she will be assuming office as mayor in an acting capacity.

This after a Regional Trial Court in Calbayog City issued on February 20, this year, a warrant of arrest against Mayor Joseph Grey for the killing of a certain Rolando Diocton in October of 2006 where the mayor and his son, Francis, were implicated.

The Philippine National Police (PNP) in the region has launched manhunt operations against Grey who failed to report to his office for months now.

Reports said the San Jorge mayor, since late last year, run the office through an officer-in-charge while in Manila but lately the officer-in-charge designate stopped reporting to office.

This prompted Vice Mayor Yu to seek advice from the Provincial Director of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) here Mr. Jovito Lacaba what steps she should take to fill the leadership vacuum in the municipal government.

Lacaba, in an interview, informed that he told Yu that she could assume office in an acting capacity if the mayor is temporarily incapacitated to perform his duties for physical or legal reasons as provided for in Sec. 46 of the Local Government Code but warned that she is barred from appointing, suspending or dismissing town employees as this is prohibited under the Code.

The DILG Director said Yu should have done that earlier had she asserted her right as the town’s next high-ranking official.

According to Lacaba, the effectivity of an appointment of an officer-in-charge is only three days so that the vice mayor can automatically assume office as acting mayor in the fourth day, otherwise he can be charge with dereliction of duty should anything untoward happen.