A major reshuffle in Cebu City Hall has department heads swapping positions on orders of Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama who said he wants to “maximize their skills and expertise” in their new assignments.
City Administrator Jose Marie Poblete, who is a lawyer and civil engineer, will now serve as city engineer.
He is being replaced by Eugene Elizalde, whose role as chief of the Police Coordinating Advisory Council (PCAC) will be assumed by Vice Mayor Edgar Labella. (See table on this page for complete list.)
Some department and office heads get to retain their posts like Cebu City Medical Center director Dr. Gloria Duterte and lawyer Rafael Yap, Cebu City Traffic Operations Management (Citom) operations chief.
“I do not intend to terminate them or get them out of City Hall. My only desire is that they will join us in our direction,” said the mayor.
Rama said a separate meeting will be called with his consultants and executive assistants.
Rama said he won’t entertain any request for reconsideration over these changes.
He said he used as basis the answers given by these officials to his question “If given a chance to decide, which of the areas (in government service) will you be more or less prepared?”
Rama said he expects much from his department heads because of events ahead that need extensive preparation like the annual Sinulog in Januray, Charter Day in February and the 2015 APEC summit and 2016 International Eucharistic Congress.
“I wish I don’t have to change them after three or six months,” Rama said.
‘Show of super service’
The mayor also plans to call a general assembly with close to 5,000 regular, casual and job order employees to discuss his directions for 2014.
The renewal of appointments of casuals and the hiring of replacements for those who were not renewed last July will be handled by the Human Resource and Development Office (HRDO).
Rama held meetings last Dec. 28 and 30 with his 22 department and sections heads to discuss how to deliver what he called a “show of super service” or SOSS with the ity’s P5.9 billion annual budget for 2014.
Elizalde, the n ew city administrator who will serve as the mayor’s right hand, is a trusted Rama supporter.
Poblete, a lawyer and civil engineer by profession, will head the Department of Engineering and Public Works (DEPW).
Poblete replaces Engr. Kenneth Carmelita Enriquez who will head the City Planning and Development Office.
Dr. Alice Utlang, the city veterinarian whom Rama replaced after she walked out of a meeting he called before the May 2013 elections, will now head the City Office for Substance Abuse and extend service to the Department of Agriculture under Joey Baclayon in the area of animal care.
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