Dondon back as acting VM

CEBU, Philippines —  A week after returning to his original position after serving as acting mayor of Cebu City, the city's no.1 councilor, Donaldo C. Hontiveros, is currently serving as acting vice mayor.

Last February 28 to March 7, Hontiveros was designated as the acting mayor, after Mayor Mike Rama filed for a long overdue vacation leave.

At about the same time as Rama’s leave of absence, Vice Mayor Raymond Garcia was also on leave for a week for a “study tour” in Israel with most of the city councilors from the majority bloc with him.

That paved the way for Councilor Nestor Archival to be the designated acting vice mayor for a week, since Hontiveros already stood as the acting mayor.

This time, with Rama back in Cebu, Hontiveros will be the acting vice mayor after Garcia went on leave again.

A copy of the memorandum from the Vice Mayor’s Office obtained by The FREEMAN showed that Garcia is on leave from March 16 to 21, but no reason was given for the latest leave.

A source told The FREEMAN that Garcia is back abroad for some personal reasons, but the same source did not mention the vice mayor’s destination.

Hontiveros had been serving in an acting capacity as city mayor and vice mayor several times already since his first term, so working as the acting vice mayor again is no longer a difficult task for him.

Prior to his current term as councilor, Hontiveros had also been a vice mayor already when former mayor Edgardo Labella died in 2021, paving the way for Rama who was then the vice mayor to become mayor and Hontiveros as the no.1 councilor as vice mayor of the city, by virtue of succession.

The former basketball star Hontiveros, however, decided to seek re-election as a city councilor, amidst some calls for him to run as vice mayor during the 2022 National and Local Elections. Such a decision got him to be the number 1 city councilor anew. — GAN (FREEMAN)