Four outgoing officials were awarded citations by the city government during the 146th and last regular session of the City Council.
Receiving commendations through four separate resolutions were 3rd Palawan Legislative District House Rep. Gil Acosta Sr., Vice Mayor Luis Marcaida III, and councilors Modesto Rodriguez II and Rolando Amurao.
In the Sanggunian Draft Resolution (SDR) No. 502-2019, the City Council cited Acosta “for his tireless, heartfelt, and selfless service as the Representative for the Third Legislative District of Palawan in the 17th Congress of the Republic of the Philippines”.
Atty. Philip Jerome Hilario, secretary to the City Council, said that as a legislator, Acosta established the scholarship program for the underprivileged tertiary students in Puerto Princesa, the city library and socialized housing projects, the Salamat Mabuhay Project (SMP) that grants benefits to the retired officials of the provincial government, and led the passage of the plastic ban all over Palawan.
Marcaida was cited through SDR No. 503-2019 for his exemplary performance as the city vice mayor and presiding officer of the 15th City Council.
Hilario said Marcaida authored 40 ordinances and 668 resolutions during his stay as a member of 15th City Council.
Marcaida was also commended for his 27 consecutive years in government service.
Marcaida, in an emotional speech, thanked his family, the other councilors, his office staff, the media, former provincial governor Joel Reyes, and Puerto Princesa City mayor Edward Hagedorn, whom he claimed stood by his side during the toughest times in his career.
“Today, I stand before you, knowing the fact and bearing in mind that this will be my last attendance in the session or in the regular session at least of the 15th Sangguniang Panlungsod. I will miss the Sangguniang Panlungsod. To all the friends, maraming salamat po sa inyong lahat. Especially to the people of Puerto Princesa for all the support, maraming-maraming salamat po sa inyong lahat,” Marcaida said.
He added that his stay in the public service taught him to be “brave, humble, to value teamwork, and to believe in himself and be a better person”.
After losing in the 2013 elections, he said he is not discounting the possibility of running again for an elective position in the next election.
The contributions of Rodriguez were also recognized through SDR No. 504-2019.
Rodriguez served as a city councilor from July 1, 2010-July 30, 2019 where he chaired the Committees on Appropriations, People and Organizations and Non-Government Office (NGO) Affairs, and Environmental Protection and Natural Resources (EPNR).
“This is not yet my retirement, this is only a temporary stop of being a member of this city council. I might only transfer to another building or office, hindi pa rin po ako sigurado. When my retirement becomes permanent, that is the time that I am going to deliver my farewell speech. The blood that is running in my veins, the blood of being a public servant shall continue forever,” Rodriguez said.
He is undefeated as a city councilor for three terms.
Amurao who chaired two of the most controversial committees, the Committee on Transportation and Games and Amusement, was also cited for authoring 17 ordinances and 41 resolutions.
Amurao lost his reelection bid to the City Council in the recent polls.
He, however, did not make any speech despite the prodding of his fellow councilors.
