Padilla to ‘recognize’ cement donors

        The town hall of Jose Panganiban … acknowledging support towards Mayor Ricarte 

        Padilla’s baranggay road cementing project. – MWBuzzpic by ARNEL P 

        HERNANDEZ

 
By PERCY A OSTONAL 

and ALFREDO P HERNANDEZ

THE municipal council of Jose Panganiban has passed a resolution to acknowledge and recognize donors to the “bag of cement for a cause” project of Mayor Ricarte Padilla.

The council resolution was passed despite dissenting opinions from the minority members.

Council member Carlos Tabuada, a staunch supporter of Padilla, told MWBuzz from Mambulao:

“This is the opportune time without political party involvement to unite and think not of the coming 2013 election where one could make political posturing.

“Everyone should be on board and this befitting tribute to all Mambulaoan donors is more than anything else … they are truly patriotic men and women of our town”.

MWBuzz has gathered that the Office of the Mayor’s IT/secretarial staff have prepared the “Certificate of Appreciation” to be handed over to donors and also reviewing a database of contributors.

It is expected that the Batch 81 of the Jose Panganiban National High School (JPNHS) to which Padilla belongs would dominate the army of certificate recipients.

Sometime last year, Padilla appealed to his batch mates to help him push through with his “baranggay road cementing project” that aims to build, upgrade and rehabilitate baranggay roads across the municipality.

Batch 81 members supported the appeal, which was pushed on their Facebook messages address to Mambulaoans who are overseas.

Mayor Padilla ... pleased

 Padilla also told his batch mates that it would cost more than P10 million to build a kilometer of cemented road and that the coffers of the municipality could not pay for it.

The municipal government generates a modest annual revenue of P45 million, which goes to municipal projects and operations.

Meanwhile, Vice-Mayor Ariel Non has been instructed to provide an updated report on the progress of the road-cementing project around the municipality as well as the total cost involved so far.

Padilla has also instructed Non to post the pictures of on-going road projects in designated places around town, together with volume of cement donations from the public.

A source close to Padilla said that the mayor was pleased by the “overwhelming response” to his call for help towards his road project, which was relayed through social networks by Mambulaoans overseas and elsewhere in the Philippines.