Mindanaotoday.com | MisOr’s Yasay voted as PBMLP regional chairman
By: Jigger Jerusalem
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – A group of provincial legislators from all over Northern Mindanao had decided that the best person to lead them is from Misamis Oriental and did that by voting Board Member Dexter Yasay during the Provincial Board Members League of the Philippines’ (PBMLP) regional assembly and election of officers held at a beach resort in Opol town Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2022.
Yasay, who was elected as the regional chairperson, and the other PBMLP-region 10 officers ran unopposed in the election leading to a swift declaration of winners by the Department of the Interior and Local Government-10 officials, who acted as the electoral commission.
Those elected with Yasay were lawyer Webb Bajenio (Camiguin), vice chairperson; Eleuterio Obial Jr. (Lanao del Norte), secretary general; Minerva Casinabe (Bukidnon), treasurer; Wayne Militante (Misamis Oriental), auditor; and Eduardo Cebedo (Misamis Occidental), public relations officer.
The PBMLP-region 10 board of directors consists of Mario Albarece Jr. (Bukidnon), Maria Cristina Atay (Lanao del Norte), Calven Tito Decina (Misamis Occidental), Rey Buhisan (Misamis Occidental), and Louis Bollozos (Camiguin).
In an interview, Yasay said “there will be changes” during his administration, starting with the establishment of PBMLP-10’s identity.
The newly elected chairman said he will see to it that the officers and members of the PBMLP in Northern Mindanao will have a uniform that will identify them in the league’s activities.
“You can always be a public official and a public servant even without the uniform, but it’s a long forgotten promise from the previous PBMLP-10 leaderships. Today, we will assure the regional PBMLP council that we will have an identification and we will be recognized in the national level,” Yasay said.
“Never again will region 10 be forsaken,” he added.
Yasay said he will also be pushing for the simultaneous conduct of the PBMLP election nationwide, citing that other organizations of elected local government officials are doing it.
He added he will make it a point to hold a quarterly meeting of the PBMLP-10 regional officers to consult and discuss what the provincial legislators can do aside from crafting local laws.
“What can we possibly do beyond legislation, beyond implementation, and beyond innovation? Perhaps there are small things that will greatly help, not just to the PBMLP, not just to the local government, but the impact is a positive one to our respective communities,” Yasay said.
Right timing
Yasay attributed to his becoming the PBMLP regional chairperson to the right timing since only he and fellow Misamis Oriental provincial board member Syremae Emano were the only ones left holding regional positions as other officers were on their last term or had lost in the last elections.
At the time, Emano was the interim regional chair, and Yasay the interim regional vice chair.
At the recent PBMLP national executive council meeting, Yasay represented Emano and in that gathering it was decided that Misamis Oriental will host the next PBMLP regional assembly and election.
He said Misamis Oriental has not hosted the PBMLP regional convention in the last seven terms or 21 years.
“When I consulted this to Gov. Peter Unabia, he did not hesitate to lend his support, but only on one condition – that I will run as the regional chairman, and, if possible, to run as national president,” Yasay said.
For his part, Unabia said: “My commitment is to work not only for Misamis Oriental, but for the whole region.”
In his message to the PBMLP-10 members during the opening ceremony held Aug. 30, the governor said he believes that the people of Northern Mindanao will benefit from government services and interventions if all the region’s five provinces – Misamis Oriental, Misamis Occidental, Lanao del Norte, Camiguin, and Bukidnon – will work together for the common good.
The PBMLP-10 activities were attended and witnessed by lawyer Ananias Canlas, PBMLP national president; Romel Enriquez, national chairman; lawyer Domingo Oso, secretary general; Ram Revilla, vice president for Luzon; and Edgar Andanar, vice president for Mindanao. (MT)
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