Lawyer John Jigo Dacua. | CDND File Photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella has appointed Lawyer John Jigo Dacua as new chief of the Department of Public Services (DPS).
Dacua, who used to be assigned with the City Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO), will replace Engineer Joel Biton, who will now head the city’s street lighting division, one of the divisions under DPS.
Lawyer Junine Aragones, who served as the Assistant City Administrator in the last six months, will take his place as CENRO chief.
Mayor Labella announced the reshuffling of the heads of the two City Hall offices during his press conference on Tuesday morning, January 7, 2020.
He said that Biton suits the position of street lighting division head since he is a licensed electrical engineer.
“Biton did a good job as DPS head, but I want faster collection of garbage,” Labella told reporters.
However, Labella clarified that Biton’s transfer should not be interpreted as a demotion because “reshuffling is normal in the government if we want to achieve optimal results.”
Read: Cleaning city’s streets, declogging city’s waterways top Labella’s to do list
Since his election in May 2019, Labella said he has developed the habit of going around the city at dawn to especially check on the city government’s garbage collection efficiency.
Labella said he noticed that garbage collection in specific areas take hours to complete even if the city government recently acquired brand new compactor trucks.
While major thoroughfares are kept clean, piles of garbage can be still be found especially on interior roads.
Read: Ong to Labella: Help barangays acquire brand new garbage trucks
Labella expressed confidence that Dacua’s appointment as DPS chief will improve the city’s garbage collection efficiency.
In a separate interview, Biton said that he implemented Labella’s order to keep city streets clean, but there were some unavoidable circumstances which caused delays in their garbage collection efforts.
He said that he would gladly vacate his post as DPS chief and embrace the new challenges that will come with his appointment as street lighting division chief. Biton also promises to do his best to ensure that all of the city’s 80 barangays are well lighted.
Dacua is yet to comment on Labella’s order for his transfer. But the mayor expressed confidence that DPS, under his leadership, will ensure a cleaner Cebu City in 2020.
Atty. Dacua became controversial when CENRO, under his leadership, did not interpose any objections on the cutting of five trees from along M. Velez Street which caused the outrage of environmentalists.
He also authorized the filing of complaints against three barangays found to have violated environmental ordinances and laws. / dcb