COTABATO City– Newly installed secretary of the Department of Public Works and Highways in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (DPWH-ARMM) Engr. Don Loong has officially assumed office and immediately called his staff to a meeting.
Loong vowed to continue the reform agenda of the regional government and maintain fiscal discipline in the agency.
Speaking to reporters, the new regional secretary said his assumption as the head of an agency is a big challenge noting, however, that he will do his best to emulate the performance of former Secretary Engr. Emil Sadain.
“It is very difficult to surpass his (former secretary Engr. Emil Sadain’s) achievements. On my end, I will continue and sustain Gov. Mujiv Hataman and Sec. Sadain’s reform agenda,” he told reporters.
He vowed to institute further reforms to make the agency more service oriented and accessible to ordinary folks in the region composed of the provinces of Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi.
“My goal is to maintain the fiscal discipline that (Sec. Sadain) had started. We will guarantee the correct disbursement of money and also implement procurement rules and quality standard used in the national agency (DPWH),” he said after meeting all the district engineers in the region.
Loong said one of his targets as the new secretary is to ensure the effective implementation of the various projects of the agency.
He stressed that it will be achieved by checking the project’s quality, cost, and manner of implementation. He also assured that projects will be built without delays.
Lawyer Laisa Alamia, ARMM executive secretary, administered the official installation of Sec. Loong held on Thursday.
He replaced Sadain, who has been transferred to the DPWH national office as assistant secretary for foreign-funded projects. Engr. Sadain has been the agency’s regional secretary for more than three years.
Loong was the former DPWH-ARMM assistant secretary under the stewardship of Engr. Sadain.
He was a graduate of Civil Engineering at the University of the Philippines Diliman and has been into extensive study exposure to various countries like the United Kingdom and the United States. PNA
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