With a partymate in the City Mayor’s Office, it appears Lone District Representative Bing Leonardia is itching to have a taste of executive power once more. Proof? Bing has issued a public statement saying he expects both acting Mayor Greg Gasataya and acting Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran to cooperate with the projects he wishes to be implemented in the city. Bing hopes to get started on the implementation of a lighting project and another flyover project, which he claims were blocked by the administration of temporarily suspended Mayor Monico Puentevella. This, of course, is a strategy to force Puentevella to continue with these massive expenditures upon his expected return to City Hall after he serves his 90-day suspension because ground has already been broken. This style of leadership, however, reeks not only of political brinkmanship but also of opportunism that is not unfamiliar in Bacolod. How will Greg and El Cid take this reminder from their mayoralty bet and acknowledged padrino? This remains to be seen. While Greg has, so far, began transferring department heads and moving personnel around, the sentiment is that any change would be temporary. For a local government functionary, three months of heading a department or being transferred to a different office would be considered too limited a window of opportunity or a temporary inconvenience. Either way, it seems clear that Greg is not going to be mayor long enough to significantly change the way City Hall works or who works in City Hall. What is clear though is that it appears Bing misses the powers of the Mayor’s Office so much that he has no qualms publicly reminding Greg to cooperate and toe the line. Bing, Greg, and El Cid face tough fights in 2016 and the next three months will be a critical period for the top three of Grupo Progreso to show how they intend to govern if all of them are given the privilege of serving Bacolod in 2016.
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