By NITZ ARANCON
Correspondent
COUNCILOR Councilor Edna Dahino on Wednesday declared her support for the Moreno administration even as she called the mayor’s annual report delivered during the city’s 66th Charter Day celebration as “very inspiring” and as an eye opener.
Her fellow councilor, Zaldy Ocon, said Dahino has severed her ties with the Padayon Pilipino and has joined the Moreno administration. Ocon said he was expecting two others to become allies of Mayor Oscar Moreno.
Dahino however said that she has not turned her back on the Padayon Pilipino, the party of Moreno’s political rival ex-mayor Vicente Emano, but she merely pledged to support the Moreno administration’s programs.
The Padayon Pilipino has been widely criticized for the city council’s rejection of the proposed annual budgets submitted by Moreno since 2014. Before the elections, its members figured in a failed attempt to seize political control of city hall by booting Moreno out using a graft case filed against the mayor.
Dahino said her decision to support Moreno has nothing to do with partisan politics.
“The people of Cagayan de Oro elected me, and so I will serve them,” said Dahino.
She lauded Moreno’s annual report on the state of the city, calling it “very inspiring.” The councilor also said Moreno’s speech, which lasted for over an hour, made her understand many things she was unaware of before.
Dahino said she would also support in the future the Moreno administration’s proposed annual budgets.
“Ni-a man man gyud ko dinhi. It means that I will support sa mga programa alang sa katawhan,” Dahino said.
Ocon, meanwhile, said two more members of the Padayon Pilipino are expected by him to become Moreno’s allies in the city council. Neither did he elaborate nor identify the councilors he referred to.
Moreno, for his part, said he was optimistic that under the leadership of Vice Mayor-elect Joaquin Rainier Uy, “wala nay mga konsihal nga mobabag sa mga plano alang sa Cagayan de Oro.”
Moreno called for unity, political peace, and collaboration between the city government’s executive and legislative branches.
“Let the history years that had passed serve to remind us well. Never again that hatred prevails to influence the relationship of the executive and the legislative. Never again,” Moreno said.
He said city hall is planning to build at least 800 classrooms more, two public hospitals for the 1st and 2nd Districts, and more roads in the city’s outlying villages.
City hall has extensively invested on health, education, and infrastructure projects during the first three years of the Moreno administration despite a city council that, most of the time, questioned and rejected the mayor’s proposals.
Despite the “uncooperative” city council, Moreno said, city hall was able to upgrade the facilities of the city hall-owned JR Borja Hospital, concreted kilometers of roads, and construct some 400 classrooms in the last three years.
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