TABUK CITY, Kalinga—Dozens of barangay chiefs in the province have expressed their full and unconditional support to Gov. Jocel C. Baac, who is serving a six-month suspension from the Office of the Ombudsman stemming from a case where he allegedly manhandled a provincial official inside his office.
In a statement of support furnished the Manila Standard, the barangay officials view Baac’s suspension as “suspicious.” They believe the penalty meted him was too much and that something was not clear about the decision.
“We know health services is a priority concern of the provincial government of Kalinga, thus, the provincial health board passed a resolution requesting the Provincial Board for the corresponding authority from the latter authorizing as urgent the Kalinga Gabriela Mija Kim Medical Center as an extension of the Kalinga Provincial Hospital, so that funds and personnel for its operation from the Kalinga Provincial Hospital can be justified, because the Health Department required a license to operate and PhilHealth accreditation,” the barangay officials stated in their position paper.
The statement claimed information is spreading through social media that Baac was suspended because of graft. The barangay officials said there is no truth “to such false report” and that the governor was suspended “for his ardent desire to promote health services to the people.”
The barangay officials stressed Baac was suspend for “simple misconduct” when he allegedly scolded provincial board secretary Mathew Matbagan.
Matbagan and Kalinga Rep. Allen Jesse Mangaoang, the former vice governor, had signed a resolution not in accordance with the recommendations of the provincial health board, the barangay chairmen said.
The duo, per the village chiefs, allegedly placed the words “abandoned and futile” in the questioned resolution “when in fact, the Kalinga Gabriela Mijia Kim Medical Center was never abandoned because it was Baac who opened and rendered the hospital operational.”
The statement added that two new buildings were even constructed and that “the ill effect of too much politics in the province” has greatly delayed the implementation of development projects for the people of Kalinga, “when it is only now that the people feel and see the robust development of the province.”
Despite Baac’s “unjust suspension” from office, the barangay officials expressed their full trust and confidence in the governor’s leadership.
They said the peace and order situation of Kalinga “has greatly improved” with the use of the “bodong” (native peace pact) as a basic mode of promoting peace and understanding among the people in the settlement of tribal disputes.
Under Baac’s leadership, they said Kalinga was a four-time awardee of the Seal of Good Local Governance and Seal of Good Housekeeping, significantly improving the image of the province in terms of the management of its resources for development. Kalinga had also climbed to 43rd position in the competitiveness of the 82 provinces in the country, they noted.
In terms of agriculture, Kalinga was twice adjudged as one of the top ten rice-producing provinces in the country during Baac’s term, coupled with the implementation of foreign-assisted projects for the future development of the province.