Cagayan de Oro City Hall opened the first work week of 2020 by bidding farewell to a department head and welcoming a new one during a shortened flag-raising and program held at the City Hall quadrangle yesterday.
Acting chief Nicanor Jabagat of the City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Department (CDRRMD) led City Hall department heads in honoring retired Col. Mario Verner Monsanto who left the CDRRMD last December after being confirmed as assistant secretary to the Office of the President.
Jabagat credited Monsanto for improving operations at the CDRRMD from the ground up before a video reel was played showing highlights of Monsanto’s tenure at the department.
In his farewell message, Monsanto recounted the story behind his appointment to the post and he ended by assuring City Hall department heads and officials that he is a ‘phone call or a text message away’ in case any of them want to communicate with him.
Later during his weekly message, Acting City Administrator Teddy Sabuga-a introduced retired Col. Rizalino Borlagdata as the new Roads and Traffic Administration (RTA) chief and concurrent head of City Hall’s civil security team.
Borlagdata had retired after heading the Police Regional Office’s (PRO-10) logistics office at Camp Alagar last June when his dual appointments at City Hall took effect last Thursday, Jan. 2.
While thanking Mayor Oscar Moreno for his appointments, Borlagdata also said a key factor in easing Cagayan de Oro City’s traffic congestion is to instill discipline among motorists and public utility vehicle drivers. (Stephen Capillas of City Information Office)
