TABUK CITY, Kalinga – Dozens of punong barangays in the different parts of this province expressed their full and unconditional support to Gov. Jocel C. Baac despite having meted a 6-month suspension by the Office of the Ombudsman which emanated from a case filed against him for allegedly manhandling a provincial official inside his office.
In a statement of support provided the Herald Express, the concerned barangay officials view Baac’s suspension as suspicious as they believe the penalty meted him was too much and that something was not clear about the decision.
“We know health services is a priority concern of the provincial government of Kalinga, thus, the provincial health board passed a resolution requesting the provincial board for the corresponding authority from the latter authorizing as urgent the Kalinga Gabriela Mija Kim Medical Center as an extension of the Kalinga Provincial Hospital so that the funds and personnel for its operation from the Kalinga Provincial Hospital can be justified because the health department required a license to operate and PhilHealth accreditation,” the barangay officials stated in their position paper.
The statement claimed information is spreading through social media that Gov. Baac was suspended because of graft, clarifying that there is no truth to such false report and that the reason for his suspension is his ardent desire to promote health services to the people.
The concerned barangay officials underscored Gov. Baac was not suspended for malversation but simple misconduct when he allegedly scolded Mathew Matbagan when the latter and former vice governor and now Kalinga Rep. Allen Jesse Mangaoang signed a resolution not in accordance with the recommendations of the provincial health board and that the duo allegedly placed the words ‘abandoned and futile’ in the questioned resolution when in fact, the Kalinga Gabriela Mijia Kim Medical Center was never abandoned because it was Baac who opened and rendered the hospital operational.
Further, the barangay officials claimed two new buildings were even constructed and that the ill effect of too much politics in the province has greatly delayed the implementation of development projects for the people of Kalinga when it is only now that the people feel and see the robust development of the province.
Despite his alleged unjust suspension from office, the barangay officials expressed their full trust and confidence in Baac’s leadership considering that the peace and order situation of the province has greatly improved with the use of the ‘bodong’ as a basic mode of promoting peace and understanding among the people in the settlement of tribal disputes.
Under Baac’s leadership, Kalinga was a 4-time awardee of the Seal of Good Local Governance and Seal of Good Housekeeping significantly improving the image of the province in terms of the management of its resources for development aside from the fact that it climbed up to 43rd position in the competitiveness of the 82 provinces in the country.
In terms of agriculture, Kalinga was twice adjudged as one of the top ten rice-producing provinces in the country during Baac’s term coupled with the implementation of foreign-assisted projects for the future development of the province. By HENT