Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) OIC-Secretary Eduardo M. Año directed the newly-promoted directors and other DILG officials to check for violations of environmental and other laws in their respective areas to prevent a Boracay-like crisis from happening.
Speaking during the first-ever mass oath-taking held at the DILG central office, Año said that the current problem in Boracay is just a symptom but the real sickness is the implementation of the law.
“I urge you to help us rectify and solve the problem in Boracay by making a chain of actions in your areas so that other parts of the country will not suffer the same fate,” he said.
He enjoined the newly promoted officials to understand and learn from the Boracay problem and how they can avoid similar situations in their place of assignments.
The DILG chief said that LGUs should not wait for an environmental crisis to happen in other tourist spots like El Nido, Coron, Siargao, Camiguin, etc. “As DILG field officials, you can prevent a similar crisis from happening. You should be vigilant,” he said.
On the issue of Barangay appointment scams, the DILG Chief directed the newly-promoted officials to get the names and gather the facts of those personalities or groups who are peddling and asking for payment in exchange for alleged appointments relative the upcoming Barangay and SK elections.
“The DILG does not authorize any group or individuals to solicit any money from anybody. Beware of these poseurs and report to us immediately so they will be given appropriate sanctions and cases will be filed against them pursuant to the law,” he said.
Rank has its responsibilities
Of the 31 newly promoted officials, 20 are Local Government Operations Officer (LGOO) VIII holding the ranks of City and Provincial Directors. Five were promoted as Director III who now holds the position of full-pledged Assistant Directors. Three others now hold Director IV positions as Bureau Directors and three Regional Directors have newly adjusted ranks as Career Executive Service Officers (CESO) from CESO IV to CESO III.
He said that the officials really deserve their long-overdue promotion having faithfully worked as true public servants in the Department.
Año said that along with the phrase “rank has its privileges”(RHIPs), there is also an accompanying phrase that goes “rank has its responsibilities” (RHIRs).
“Spiderman once said that greater power means greater responsibilities and with that, I urge you to work much faster, more effectively and more efficiently now that you are already holding higher positions,” Año said.
