ILOILO City – City Budget Officer Ninda Atinado’s decision to give up heading the city government’s beautification committee was a good call, according to City Administrator Hernando Galvez.
Citing Atinado’s “sensitive position” as budget officer, Galvez found her added task as chief of the body taking charge of keeping the city beautiful – primarily planting ornamental plants and maintaining them – as off.
“I find it illogical nga ang mananom, ibutang mo under the budget office,” he said.
The task should have been given to an office or department which has relevance to the function of the beautification committee, he said, such as the City Environment and Natural Resources Office or City Agriculture Office.
Galvez said Atinado tendered her resignation from the beautification committee a few days ago.
Atinado had been handling the committee for nearly 15 years already.
According to Galvez, when he was appointed city administrator in July 2016, he recommended to then mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog to “realign” positions at city hall, including that of Atinado as head of the beautification committee.
Effective yesterday, said Galvez, Mayor Jose Espinosa III tasked City Agriculturist Romulo Pangantihon to handle the beautification committee.
There would be an inventory of the committee’s workforce and properties. Galvez said personnel would be distributed to various barangays.
He observed that around 40 job hires of the committee were posted in one barangay alone (Zamora-Melliza where Plaza Libertad is located) in the City Proper.
“That is not right. We should beautify not just one barangay but the whole city,” said Galvez./PN
