VG Magpale reports on time, meets with staffs

The shoes that the late vice governor Greg Sanchez left may be too big for her, but new Vice Gov. Agnes Magpale said she was prepared to take her new responsibility as the second- highest ranking official in Cebu province.

Magpale reported to the legislative building of the Capitol at exactly 8 a.m. yesterday, a day after she took her oath of office as vice governor, to meet one by one the 62 employees of the office of the vice governor including its chief of staff Evangeline de Paula.

Magpale said she wanted to solicit the “full cooperation” of her new office personnel and explain to them her brand of service which is “walking the extra miles” to serve the Cebuanos.

“I know there is resistance. I received reports (on the matter), so I hope I can win them over at least while I am here because work will be easier for all of us if I’ll win their cooperation,” she added.

During their talks, the late vice governor’s office personnel shared with Magpale especially their concerns on their employment security since most of them would already have their employment contracts expiring in July.

“It was a good decision that she spoke to us one by one so that she will hear our concerns because we are especially worried that we will no longer get renewal of our appointments. We hope that she will hear us,” said Marina Abear, the head of operations of the vice governor’s office.

Magpale said she intends to keep the vice governor’s office staffers. She only brought with her three staffs from her previous office to help coordinate her appointments.

When she entered her new office yesterday morning, a basket of flowers from Gov. Gwen Garcia was already on her office table.

Businessman Glen Soco also visited the vice governor’s office to pay his courtesy and deliver a basket of goodies for Magpale.

Magpale later said she was aware that her occupancy of the vice governor’s office was only temporary because of a pending election protest that Soco filed against the late vice governor Sanchez.

She said she was willing to vacate the vice governor’s office located on the fourth floor of the legislative building and return to her third-floor PB office if the Commission on Election resolves the election protest in favor of Soco.

Until then, Magpale said she would have her hands full. Aside from meeting her new office staff, she also intends to implement a reorganization of the PB committees to reassign the committees that she is now handling to other PB members.

However, she said she intends to retain chairmanship of the committee on women and children. /with reporter Ador Vincent Mayol