Bautista denies hand over mass resignations

By Eldie S. Aguirre,
Davao Bureau Chief

DIGOS City — Davao Occidental Governor Claude Bautista vehemently denied having ‘dipped his finger’ over the mass resignation of several department heads and employees handling sensitive posts in Davao del Sur just a day after Governor Douglas Cagas assumed office on August 3.

Cagas won the gubernatorial post on May 9 elections but failed to dispense his duties and responsibilities as he was detained inside the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) District jail in Digos City over an alleged murder charges for the death of journalist Nestor Bedolido in June 2010.

The court granted temporary liberty for Cagas on August 3 following a marathon hearing on July 18 to 22 for his petition to post bail.

When Cagas assumed office on July 4, at least 17 employees of the provincial capitol, mostly department heads and officer-in-charge tendered their irrevocable resignation to the governor.

Bautista said he did not convince them to resign from their respective post, saying it was a drastic action on their part considering the fact that the the employees have been in government service for a long time.

“I was even surprised when they (came) to me and said they already resigned from their jobs. I ask them why and for what reasons they did it when their security of tenure could be impeded aside from the eminent risk to their respective careers,” Bautista said.

Robert Belarmine Bajo, the provincial planning officer and acting as the spokesman for the group said they voluntarily resigned from their current positions since they could no longer work harmoniously with the new administration.

“It was a long overdue plan for us. We have been planning to resign after the official change of administration mid noon of June 30 but the former governor told us to remain there and prepare for the assumption of the new local chief executive so that there will be a smooth transition,” Bajo said.

Bautista said he had no other options for those who resigned but to help them move on saying they were the people working behind his administration when he was the governor from 2013 to 2016.

“It’s their decision, I could no longer break it. All I can do is to take care of them for the meantime as they lost their jobs. What I’m worried is that I could not immediately hire them to serve in Davao Occidental for there could be hindrances that must be considered before some will qualify under my turf,” Bautista said.

The governor said if they wanted to work in Davao Occidental, they have to submit their resume and follow the process in hiring employees.

Davao Occidental became the 81st province in the country after it was created on October 28, 2013 under R.A. 10360 where an overwhelming ‘Yes’ vote was gathered during the referendum.

However, the referendum was done after the 2013 elections and the law states that the new set of government officials will be elected on the next elections, hence on the May 9 polls the new provincial officials were elected.