Gullas to JVR: Show leadership, observe transparency

CEBU, Philippines - Former Cebu first district representative Eduardo Gullas has offered an advice to the man who defeated him in the mayoralty race in Talisay City last year: Show leadership and observe transparency.

In an interview yesterday, Gullas said he decided to break his ‘silence’ after seeing the many issues the administration of Talisay Mayor Johnny De los Reyes is facing, including, among others, the controversy involving the Talisay City College, alleged nepotism, and cutting on the number job order employees.

“Provide leadership. It is the right of the people of Talisay to know how many relatives JVR hires, how many job orders, confidential assistants, and consultants are in the payroll. It is an essential attribute of leadership to, at all times, follow the rule of law,” Gullas said.

“There are more things that should unite us than those that divide us,” he added.

The City Council headed by Vice Mayor Romeo Villarante has been very critical about De los Reyes’ decisions, the most recent of which is the slashing the job order workforce in the city, which the Council believes will compromise the implementation of government projects and services.

De los Reyes’ decision to cut down the number of job order employees came after the Commission on Audit, during an exist conference last week, recommended that the city adopt austerity measures by downsizing the number of its workers.

As regards the Talisay City College, Gullas advised De los Reyes to observe the rule of law. Currently, the school is being run by two warring factions – that of Richel Bacaltos and Dr. Paulus Maria Cañete. The two camps even put up separate enrolment desks in the campus, a setup that caused confusion among freshmen students.

Gullas who was mayor of the city in 2001 said that except for some cases, it is not advisable for a chief executive to hire relatives to work for him. The mayor’s wife, Myrna, is head of the city’s women’s council while their son, John Yre, is the city administrator. The mayor’s brothers, Jim and Joel, head a task force and the motor pool, respectively.

“The mayor (JVR) said he only trust his relatives and my conclusion? He does not trust the Talisaynon,” Gullas said.

Gullas said that when Talisay was still a municipality, its Internal Revenue Allotment was P60 million a quarter yet it managed to implement development projects such as building school buildings without borrowing additional money.

In a separate interview, De los Reyes merely shrugged Gullas’ advices off and offered his own advice to the veteran politician: Be silent.

“It’s my time. Dili nalang ko motubag niya kay sa iyang panahon kaniadto, wala man sab ko niya nanghilabot, gipasagdan ra man sab siya nako. Ang iyang buhaton mao ang pagpakahilom lang una na siya,” De los Reyes said. — /JMO (FREEMAN)