BESAO, Mountain Province – Vice Mayor June T. Lopsoten was unanimously chosen by his fellow vice mayors in the province to lead the Vice Mayor’s League–Mountain Province Chapter for the term 2019-2022.
The vice mayors from the province’s 10 towns agreed to make Vice Mayor Lopsoten, a 2-term vice mayor and a 2-term councilor, to lead the league considering his experience in local legislation.
“I am grateful to our fellow vice mayors for coming out with a consensus that I will lead our group during the present term,” Vice Mayor Lopsoten stressed.
He said that one of the priorities of the league will be to request the Regional Development Council (RDC) in the Cordillera to include representatives of the organization as members of the region’s policy-making body so that they will be updated on the programs and policies that requires the support of the different local legislative bodies regionwide.
He pointed out that being members of the local legislative bodies, the vice mayors should also be aware of the priority directions of the RDC-CAR so that appropriate legislative measures could immediately be formulated and passed in support of the programs, projects and polices of the regional body, to ensure the speedy action from the different councils without passing through the usual process that might result in the unnecessary delays in the issuance of such required local legislative measures from the cities and municipalities comprising the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR).
On the other hand, Lopsoten disclosed the league would like to solidify its position on the region’s renewed quest for autonomy to help in enhancing the ongoing information and education campaign to allow the people in the different parts of the region to internalize the advantages of the establishment of the Autonomous Region in the Cordillera (ARC), especially in speeding up the development of less developed areas in the region, such as the 3rd to 6th-class municipalities.
According to him, members of the local legislative bodies in the different parts of the region must be tapped to sustain the gains of the ongoing information and education campaign on autonomy so that the people will be ready to decide on whether or not to vote for the ratification of the autonomy law once the same will be enacted into law and submitted to the people for ratification.
The other officers of the league are Sagada Vice Mayor Felicito Dula – Vice president, Sabangan Vice Mayor Dario P. Esden – treasurer, Natonin vice Mayor Christopher B. Bayowan – auditor, Bauko Vice mayor Bartolome Badecao – Public Relations Officer and the members of the Board of Directors are Bontoc Vice Mayor Eusibio S. Cabluyen, Tadian Vice Mayor Alfonso D. Pulan, Sadanga Vice Mayor Albert Ayao, Barlig Vice Mayor David Osborn M. Fomocod and Paracelis Vice Mayor Lister P. Carlos.
The position of league secretary was left vacant considering that no one among the vice mayors volunteered to occupy the same.
By HENT