By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

After newly-appointed Isabela Mayor Joselito Malabor signed an executive order dismissing 232 Isabela job order employees, all appointees of his predecessor, the recently-passed Mayor Enrique Montilla III, a group took to Facebook slamming the decision.
According to a post by a group called Vamos Isabela, comprised of local residents, they pointed out Montilla did not dismiss any appointees of his predecessor, former Provincial Board Member Renato Malabor, the brother of the current mayor who was gunned down in 2015.
The group claimed, by not giving current employees enough time to acquire new employment, it shows the Malabor administration is “in a hurry” to hire their friends and relatives.
Vamos Isabela added, while acknowledging Malabor will continue to carry out the programs of his predecessor, the new administration is also looking to spend the excess budget left behind.
In response, the mayor explained they are temporarily vacating their posts as they will conduct an evaluation next week.
He added, if they pass the evaluation, they will be rehired.
After assuming the post, Malabor indicated one of his first initiatives would be to ensure the municipal government is operating efficiently.
“We will form a screening committee to evaluate who among the employees are performing,” he said.
However, beyond the evaluations, Malabor also reported some employees were not reporting to work and rarely saw others attending to their posts.
The mayor assumed the position after Montilla died last week from cardiac arrest./WDJ