By Lilian Mellejor/PNA
DAVAO CITY – As the 2019 midterm election period begins in February, Mayor Sara Z. Duterte called on all national government agencies not to scale down work and instead adopt mechanisms to effectively deliver public services.
Government agencies should have prepared their procurement needs as early as the last quarter of 2018 to avoid getting caught in the election ban that prohibits government agencies from releasing funds during the election period, said Mayor Sara, who graced the first quarter joint flag-raising ceremonies and lecture series of the Association of Regional Executives of the National Agencies (ARENA) in Region 11 on Monday.
“There are things that should have been thought about,” Sara said, emphasizing on the need for the government to continue delivering social services, disaster and emergency assistance even during an election period.
The delivery of basic services and disaster response, she pointed out, “are only two of the crucial work of the government”.
Government workers, she added, must find a balance between complying with election rules and ensuring that government services remain unhampered.
“I do not want to hear nga dili mabuhat ang trabaho tungod kay there is an election ban (I do not want to hear that you cannot perform your work because there is an election ban),” the mayor said.
She cited an experience during her first term as mayor when a woman sought her help after a certain national government agency failed to address the latter’s concern.
“It took the agency one and half year to address her problem” because it was an election year, Sara said.
The mayor lauded the ARENA-11 members for partnering with the local government in addressing public concerns, adding such cooperation would help City Hall to focus on the things that it needs to do for the first six months of the year.
“We will be very busy and we need all the national government agencies to do their work properly,” the mayor said, adding the local government is on the thick of preparations for the Davao Regional Athletic Association (DAVRAA) meet, the Palarong Pambansa, the Ironman competition, and the Araw ng Dabaw in March.
