TUGUEGARAO CITY, Philippines- Cagayan Governor Manuel Mamba responded to the remark of former Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile calling him “lastog” (arrogant) during the latter’s radio interview.
“Totoo po mayabang ako, mayabang ako dahil ginagawa ko yung tama, mayabang ako dahil kung hindi ako magyayabang, maliit yung tingin nila sa akin. Mayabang ako dahil meron akong ipagyayabang. Ipagyayabang ko yung serbisyo ko sa kababayan ko sa ka-probinsya ko. And I will stay on nga lastog,” Mamba said.
Governor Mamba added, “We are proud that we stand, we are proud because we have good better and the best dreams for ourselves for our people and for our province.”
Mamba, a known political nemesis of the Enriles, said Cagayano’s have learned to “propose a lot of things” now that the Enrile is gone off politics.
Enrile’s son, Jack, lost to now First District Representative Ramon Nolasco during the 2016 elections, signaling the first time the Enriles lost hold of the congressional district since the last two decades.
“We never learned to propose, but now that Enrile is gone, we Cagayanos are learning to propose a lot of things… Dati-rati takot tayo dahil iisa ang nagpaplano para sa atin. But I think this is an eye opener to everyone,” he added.
Meanwhile, in the same speech, Mamba thanked the employees for “being with” him since assuming office.
“I enjoyed working with all of you kahit na nagagalit ako. But I enjoyed every moment of it because it was a challenge. At the same time I learned a lot from all of you too and I hope you learned a lot from me too. But the most important thing is again working together,” Mamba said.
The governor also urged capitol employees to be “exemplars to bureaucracy” to other local governments, hoping that they “enjoy” serving people. Mamba added that he wanted employees to have one heart and goal for the province.
“Sa tingin ko kasi hindi lilinis yung baba kung hindi malinis yung taas…Kung tayo yung magpakita sa kanila what really is local governance and what really is good governance, sa tingin ko pati national agencies in our region mai-influence natin,” he said.
Mamba, however, again noted the time left in his term, indicating he has only one and a half years remaining in the capitol. (READ: Is Cagayan governor Mamba not running for re-election on 2019 polls?)
“We all committed our mistakes in the past. Walang anghel sa atin whether we were influenced by other people, or… we thought that government is something to be abused or something to be used, we have gone through that,” Mamba said.
The governor also thanked department heads and noted that he will “slow down” this year as he turns 60. “In due time, I will rest… I will slow down this year but please trabaho muna tayo ng husto. I feel that your standard will always be based on what you see in me,” he said.
Yet, the governor told capitol employees to have a “common dream together.” “So again thank you so much for the cooperation, thank you so much for being with me,” he said.
Every first Monday of the month, the provincial government will hold their flag ceremony at 7 AM. The first ceremony was moved this Monday because January 1 was a holiday. Northernforum.net
