MANKAYAN, Benguet – Mayor Frenzel Ayong underscored the importance of the unity among the chief executives from the province’s thirteen municipalities to achieve the overall goal equitable development of the remote areas within the towns.
Ayong, a first-term municipal chief executive voted to the position of secretary of the League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP) Benguet chapter, explained the need to respect the collective decision of majority of the members of an organization without compromising the desire to serve other people in different ways.
“Public service can be rendered in any capacity. Our service to our constituents and those from other areas who need help will be unwavering and uncompromising because we do not want to fail them,” Mayor Ayong stressed.
The town’s chief executive pointed out what is important is for people to have the heart to serve others without hesitation and without expecting anything in return as public service must not be demanded but it should be wilfully given.
Mayor Ayong asserted that public servants must also earn the respect of other public servants regardless of age and experience through proper disposition in rendering all aspects of public service.
He urged local officials not only from the different parts of the province but also from the region to continue strengthening their bond as public officials with openness in sharing best practices to help in the significant improvement of the delivery of basic services in their areas of jurisdiction.
According to him, it is also important for public servants to forego their parochial interests and be mindful of the needs of the people within and even beyond their areas of jurisdiction and to share their expertise for better governance and enhanced delivery of services to the grassroots level.
Ayong claimed the unity of Benguet mayors displayed in the recently concluded LMP Benguet chapter elections should serve as a motivation for other local officials from other parts of the region to learn to sacrifice their ambitions for the greater interest of their constituents and for them to be able to wait for the right time for their political career to mature.
Ayong is one of the youngest local chief executives who was elected into office during the May 13, 2019 mid-term elections, an indication that voters are now inclined to elect capable and visionary individuals regardless of age and political experience, but their willingness to serve their constituents with utmost dedication.
Mankayan is one of the first-class municipalities in the agriculture-producing province deriving its income from the Lepanto Consolidated Mining Corporation, one of the surviving large-scale mining companies operating in the province.
By HENT
