By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

According to Negros Occidental Provincial Planning and Development coordinator, Dr. Ma Lina Sanogal, the current department heads working within the provincial government see “no problem” with Governor-elect Eugenio Jose Lacson, saying, they have already worked with him during his tenure as vice governor.
“He knows the existing programs of the provincial governor,” she explained. “He had announced that he will continue with priority programs and possibly level up the magnitude.”
“He knows that we are still facing the same problems like poverty, healthy concerns, and education as well as economic activities and agriculture,” the provincial official added.
Sanogal, who co-chairs the transition committee, said they all want everything to “be smooth,” citing programs that need to be implemented, particularly those being assessed by the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the Department of Finance for Seal of Good Local Governance consideration.
Meanwhile, she said a meeting of the transition team took place last Friday, which was the deadline for the submission of necessary reports.
Most of the reports pertained to finances required by the DILG, adding, the Human Resource Department was also required to submit a report on the province’s casual employees.
“The status of casuals is an urgent concern because there are services that cannot be stopped, like those at hospitals, the Negros First Language and Information Technology Center, and programs of the Provincial Health Office handled by casual employees,” she said.
Their contracts need to be renewed when they ends on June 30, Sanogal added./DGB, WDJ