Enrile, Cagayan—Mayor Miguel B. Decena Jr. recently delivered his first State of the Municipality Address here, highlighting a 10-point agenda built on the principle of “Ohana” (Family), which entails “No one forgotten, No one left behind.”
Decena underscoring the gains and progress made on the priority projects and programs of the locality from the time he assumed the top post in a speech at the Municipal Hall.
The core of his SOMA was about moving up the government actions, and adopting and institutionalizing the principle of “Ohana” or “Awan na Matalan, Awan nga Kalippanan” as the guiding principle of the municipality.
“When I entered the political arena, I was keenly aware of the huge challenges ahead. But I was not ready for what I have eventually discovered. The problems and issues are not only huge but enormous and immense,” Decena said.
“This needs focused commitment! Thus, in my first 100 days, I said, we need to prioritize the problems and implement urgent solutions,” he added.
Decena cited compassion, people empowerment, transparency and accountability, leadership and servanthood, professionalism and integrity as his guiding principles.
“With our tagline ‘One Enrile,’ it clearly sums up the vision of Ohana, where Enrilenos should be united as one big happy family and work as one toward a common vision, regardless of social status, religion, educational background, and political leanings,” Decena said.
He thanked the Sangguniang Bayan under the stewardship of Vice Mayor Expedito C. Taguibao for their support, citing a total of 51 legislative initiatives from July 1 to October 7 backing the executive agenda.
On compassionate governance, Decena remarked that the government should work with a heart.
He first assessed the organizational structure and capability of the LGU, after which he found that there only 20 employees were holding permanent appointments, while the rest were on a job order basis.
Employees serving more than 20 years did not have valid appointments or records of employment with the Civil Service Commission. Thus, he ordered the retention of a skeletal force to hire based on merit and fitness.
The mayor “felt the pain, the tears within the employees and vowed that they are Enrilenos that no one has the right to abuse them,” he said.
Now, all employees are receiving what is due them, Decena noted, as over half of them were receiving below the minimum wage, and even a medical professional was getting just P225 per day.