Mayor Names Castillo New City Legal Chief

The City Legal Office of Cebu now has a new chief appointed for the fresh mandate of re-elected Mayor Michael Rama’s second term.

Mayor Rama announced on Friday during his daily press conference that City attorney Jerone Castillo will sit as Cebu City’s Legal Office chief for the next three years defending the city against any form of cases filed.

Castillo, who is currently holding the position of City Attorney III at the City Legal Office, will be replacing former City Legal Office Chief Joseph Bernaldez after he submitted his resignation days after Mayor Rama was proclaimed winner in the midterm polls last May.

Rama said that it is his prerogative to have chosen Castillo as the new city legal head after he interviewed the candidates for the past few days. He added that he had already seen a bird’s eye view on Castillo’s capabilities when he handled well some of the city’s cases such as the Mahiga, Rallos, BIR-SM tax case, among others.

The mayor’s first task for Castillo is to convert the city attorney’s office to operate like a legal firm and still treat every case with utmost importance.

When asked by the media if age is one of the requirements, the mayor answered that maturity in handling cases is more important. “Not necessarily. I find Castillo as someone loyal, intellectual, and he maintains the same zeal,” Rama said.

Furthermore, the mayor said that he does not need to look for someone outside when there are potential candidates in the city government who already knows the details and cases of the city. He is also confident that Castillo is fit for the position and the one who would best complement his fresh mandate within his three years.

Castillo has been serving the Cebu City government since 2005. He started as City Legal Officer III at the City Legal Office, and then worked his way up to the status of City Attorney III and IV before accepting Rama’s recent appointment with a coterminous position. His formal appointment will take effect on July 1st, after Bernaldez  contract expires on the 30th of June 2013. (Gessa Gunhuran, PIO Staff)