Davide Administers Oath of Office to 528 New SK, Village Execs
Some 528 newly elected Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) officials from southern and northern towns of Cebu took their oath of office before Gov. Hilario P. Davide III last Tuesday and Wednesday.
In the south, Davide administered the oath for 240 officials of Samboan, and 288 officials of Sogod in the north.
In his speech, the governor reminded the newly elected officials that public service requires commitment as they push for programs and projects that best serve the interests of the people, especially the poor.
“As public officials, we only have one goal in mind—that is to serve the people. You will never go wrong if you prioritize the well-being of your constituents, as there is no better substitute for sincere and honest-to-goodness public service,” he said.
With criticisms as an inevitable company of public officials, the governor advised them not to lose their heart and resolve in fulfilling their duties and responsibilities to the people.
With the revival of SK, Davide also urged the youth representatives to take the opportunity to help promote good governance being the next potential heirs to a higher office.
A veteran public servant in the second district, Samboan Mayor Emerito Calderon gave a net lesson of governance to reelected officials and first-termers by a quote from former US president Abraham Lincoln.
“If I were to try to read, much less answer all the attacks made on me, this shop might as well be closed for any other business. I do the very best I know how the very best I can; and I mean to keep doing so until the end,” a part of Lincoln’s quote read, with Calderon expounding thereafter his perspective and the implications of the United States politician’s view on public life.
“If the end brings me out all right, what is said against me would not amount to anything. If the end brings me out wrong 10 angels swearing I was right would make no difference,” Calderon went on to read the quote.
Also present during the oath-taking ceremony in Samboan were Vice Mayor Emerito Calderon Jr., Second District Rep. Wilfredo Caminero and municipal councilors.
In Sogod, Mayor Lissa Marie Durano-Streegan asked Barangay and SK officials to work hand in hand with the municipal government to improve the lives of the people.
“Dili mahimo ang lungsod kung walay barangay ug dili sad mahimo ang barangay kung walay lungsod (A town can’t stand without a barangay, and a barangay can’t stand without a town). I’m looking forward to working with you all,” Streegan said.
She also thanked Davide for supporting the town’s projects and vowed that she would likewise back the programs of the Capitol.
The event was graced by Vice Mayor Richard Streegan and town councilors, as well as Fifth District Provincial Board Member Jude Thaddeus Durano-Sybico.
