Town’s new mayor, vice mayor take oath

Vice Mayor Rainero “Rene” G. Asentista took his oath yesterday as the municipal mayor of Dumanjug, Cebu.

Councilor Cesar “Sarsi” Baricuatro also took his oath as the town’s vice mayor.

Asentista and Baricuatro took their oath before Judge Bernardito Malabago of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 9 in Barili, Cebu.

Asentista and Baricuatro are no longer in acting capacity but as full-pledged mayor and vice mayor, respectively.

Department of Local and Interior Government 7 Director Rene Burdeos ordered Asentista and Baricuatro to take over the town’s leadership to prevent a vacuum.

Baricuatro is the father of Provincial Board Member Christopher Baricuatro. He has been a mayor of Dumanjug for nine years, starting when the gover- nor of Cebu was Pablo Garcia, the father of former Dumanjug mayor Nelson Garcia.

The oath taking of Asentista and Baricuatro was in relation to the dismissal of former mayor Efren Guntrano “Gungun” Gica by the Ombudsman after Nelson Garcia accused him of tampering a restaurant receipt.

Baricuatro said that as a former mayor, he will give advice to Asentista on projects and programs.

“It’s up to him to take my advice or not because he is the mayor. I will recommend some things to him because I have a lot of dreams to uplift the Dumanjug people,” Baricuatro said.

Meanwhile, the Liberal Party has yet to decide who to appoint to replace a vacant councilor position after Gica’s dismissal. Gov. Hilario Davide III said he is waiting for Dumanjug’s majority bloc to come up with a nomination. /