BANGUED, Abra – Acting Gov. Russel Bragas assured his constituency that utmost transparency will be observed in the numerous transactions of the provincial government during his short stint at the helm, and further, assured them a smooth transition of power and responsibilities to the next set of the province’s leaders after the May 12, 2025 mid-term elections.
Bragas, who assumed the post of acting local chief executive by operation of law following the successive suspension of Gov. Dominic Valera and Vice Gov. Maria Jocelyn Valera-Bernos, said that he is instituting the appropriate reforms to conform with the standards of transparency in governance which should one contribute in significantly improving the negative image of the province by outsiders and to put in place the principles of good governance worthy of emulation by other local government units.
He admitted that his team had a difficult time working on the initial wave of turnover because no single document was turned over to them by the previous administration from where they can start working on, thus, the need for the transacting public, including national government agencies, to reconstruct whatever their submissions are so that appropriate actions will be done.
Further, Bragas admitted that the uncertainty of his stint as provincial chief executive is a challenge to the present leadership but he will do his best to work for the interest of the people of Abra while awaiting further orders from the concerned bodies on whether or not to continue serving as the local chief executive overseeing the affairs of the province in the next several months.
According to him, permanent officials and employees of the provincial government were actually confused when he assumed office, but he was able to explain to them that he had no interest in the said position considering that he did not file his candidacy for any post in the province, apart from being an unopposed aspirant for vice mayor in the town of Danglas, thus, he is temporarily the provincial chief executive but he will do his best to put things in order before turning over the leadership to the duly elected officials by June 30, 2025.
The acting governor pointed out that he is also trying to work hard to impart to the officials and employees the importance of the practice of good governance to bring back the trust and confidence of the Abrenians to the local government that will eventually translate to improved quality of life in the future.
Bragas also made sure that job order employees will experience the sanctity of appearing before the concerned provincial officials where both parties will affix their signatures to the pertinent documents witnessed by the concerned notary public of the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) for them to understand their assigned duties and responsibilities pursuant to the signed agreements.
“We will do our best to put in place whatever reforms we are able to implement to ensure the improved delivery of basic services to the people and guarantee the implementation of quality development projects being prosecuted by the provincial government,” Bragas said which has elicited the support of Abrenians to his kind of leadership for just this few months prior to the conduct of the upcoming mid-term elections. By Dexter A. See
