Shortly after taking their oaths, Mayor Samuel Laynes, Vice Mayor Arlynn Arcilla and the members of the Sangguniang Bayan received a rundown of the key challenges facing them in Virac in the next three years.
In a report by Municipal Planning and Development Coordinator May Gianan during the turn-over ceremony at Plaza Rizal on June 30, 2022, the new officials were confronted with the different challenges that hinder the delivery of an effective and efficient public service and in achieving a holistic and genuine development of the capital town.
The first challenge, she said, is how to earn back the Seal of Good Local Governance (SGLG) award which the municipality failed to achieve in the previous two years, after winning it in 2016, 2017 and 2019 during Laynes’ previous term.
While it fell short in one category in 2018, the failure of the administration in 2020 and 2021 meant it lost not only a plaque of recognition but also a project fund award of P8 million per year.
The MPDC likewise urged the new administration to realize its vision as a major agro-eco tourism destination in Bicol, by appointing a regular tourism officer, crafting and approving a Tourism Development Plan, approving the proposed revision of the ordinance governing the Municipal Fish Sanctuary and Marine Reserve, and put a halt to the reclassification and conversion of lands within the Strategic Agricultural and Fisheries Development Zone (SAFDZ).
Also neglected in past administrations is the creation of a separate office responsible for environmental concerns, with the LGU having only one permanent employee to handle the enormous job.
With no suitable landfill site within its borders, Virac has no choice but to enter into an agreement with neighboring LGUs with available sites for the establishment of sanitary landfill that could accommodate the growing solid waste problem.
The report said that the town, confronted by seven types of hazards, need to prepare to protect its people from danger. The proposed measures include the relocation of residents of flood-and-landslide prone Dugui barangays, which are inside the Catanduanes Natural Forest Reserve, to the resettlement project in barangay San Isidro Village in the población.
On peace and order, the new administration’s challenge is to have the town declared as a drug-free and to prevent the proliferation of crimes especially in the wake of the 5th murder perpetrated by riding-in-tandem killers which has remain unsolved.
It likewise urged the LGU to provide social protection to problems involving the youth, citing rising cases of suicide, drug addiction and involvement in crimes.
MPDC Gianan highlighted the fact that while Virac is the center of trade and commerce in the province, investment, business and entrepreneurship promotion is not properly managed or given utmost attention particularly through the creation of a separate office to handle all income-generating activities of the LGU.
She cited the operation of the Virac Public Market, which was reopened last year, where arrearages of occupants have reached a total of almost P1.2 million.
Construction of the market, which was started during Laynes’ first term, has yet to be completed and its entire second floor still vacant after the last administration decided to revise the design and remove high-revenue rental spaces on the ground floor.
On the other hand, attention of the new officials was called to the ongoing construction of a P5-million community-based drug treatment and rehabilitation center and a P58 million evacuation center inside the three-hectare property of the LGU in Cavinitan.
A report of the Project Monitoring Committee turned up deficiencies in its construction as well as the unsuitability of the two projects for the area’s purely economic purpose.
Also recommended for priority action is the organizational structure of the municipal government, with even the Commission on Audit taking notice of undermanned offices and employees performing multiple functions.
Mayor Laynes and his team were challenged to realize the conversion of Virac from a first-class municipality into a full-fledged city.