This October 8, 2025 marks the 100th day of the local chief executives who assumed office at noon of June 30, particularly the new governors and mayors.
Reports will most likely be rendered by Governor Patrick Alain T. Azanza, the only one with no prior local government experience, as well as the six mayors of Bagamanoc, Pandan, San Andres, San Miguel, Viga and Virac.
The LCEs of these six towns are no stranger to local governance, having served in the past as mayor (Vincent Villaluna of Bagamanoc, Honesto Tabligan II of Pandan, Aly Romano of San Andres and Sinforoso Sarmiento Jr. of Virac), vice mayor (Jennifer Tuplano of Viga) or councilor (Antonio Teves of San Miguel).
Azanza, on the other hand, did not complete his four-year term at the Catanduanes State University as he decided to wade into the dirty waters of local politics.
It is not known whether the reelectionists will render their own report although Mayor Cesar Robles has prepared his own accounting of what he has done for the people of Panganiban for the first 100 days of his second consecutive term.
For years now, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) has been providing a guide for governors and mayors on the critical steps they should take for the first 100 days.
One such guide (assuming they are all similar as far as the steps are concerned) asks the new chief executive to first do some homework, familiarizing themselves with their respective roles and responsibilities under the Local Government Code of 1991 as well as related statutes and issuances.
From a core group of advisers and loyalists, the new leader forms a transition team composed of competent, knowledgeable and credible individuals to handle logistical, administrative and policy matters.
Aside from organizing his own office and hiring the best and brightest to compose the management team, especially in the co-terminus positions, he or she is supposed to familiarize themselves with the different department heads, most of whom are likely to be supporters of the previous leader although they are supposed to be non-partisan.
Then, the LCE is tasked with establishing rapport with the Sanggunian, who will pass the budget and enact the needed laws to implement the policies of the governor or mayor.
The DILG guide for governors stressed this message for both parties: “Whatever political differences there may have been during the campaign, all of you are now part of the Provincial Government and all must seek to transcend partisan affiliations for the benefit of the constituents.”
Here, the specter of partisan politics dangles above the LGU executive like a Sword of Damocles, a reminder of the constant danger and insecurity that a position of power carries with it.
Indeed, the common call for unity and cooperation from top provincial officials during their oathtaking has evaporated in the searing heat of local politics and the usual jockeying for the spoils of electoral combat.
As an example, who would have thought that in less than 100 days after emerging victors of a bruising campaign, Azanza and his two former allies would now be sniping at each other?
Certainly, the public, including loyalists from both sides, did not expect to see the new governor scarcely breaking a stride and resuming the campaign assault against the defeated Cua brothers and their families’ businesses with the tenacity of an unleashed Rottweiler.
In San Miguel town, Mayor Antonio Teves is faced with the possibility of having to implement his three-year agenda by his lonesome, with scant support from the oppositionist municipal council and the majority of department heads and employees appointed by the former mayor in his 18 years in office.
Given his difficulties, he can be forgiven for not rendering a report for his first 100 days but the other new chief executives must and should tell the people of their accomplishments as well as their plans for the rest of their term.
As the DILG guide suggests, they should focus on affirming their respective visions and the actions their administrations have taken to fulfill their vision.
And the report should be as readable as possible by common folk as possible, shorn of long narratives or incomprehensible statistics.
Blaming the former administration will not elicit the same appreciation from constituents like solid, credible accomplishments as proof that their new leader is on the way to deliver real change.