BY GERRY LEE GORIT
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – Provincial Board Member Dexter Yasay of Misamis Oriental was elected as the Provincial Board Members League of the Philippines’ (PBMLP) regional chairman during the organization’s general assembly and election of officers held at Apple Tree Resort in the municipality of Opol on Aug. 31, 2022.
Yasay, who was elected as the regional chairperson, and the other PBMLP-region 10 officers ran unopposed in the election.
Those elected with Yasay were lawyer Webb Bajenio (Camiguin), vice chairperson; Eleuterio Obial Jr. (Lanao del Norte), secretary general; Minerva Casinabe (Bukidnon), treasurer; Wayne Militante (Misamis Oriental), auditor; and Eduardo Cebedo (Misamis Occidental), public relations officer.
The PBMLP-region 10 board of directors consists of Mario Albarece Jr. (Bukidnon), Maria Cristina Atay (Lanao del Norte), Calven Tito Decina (Misamis Occidental), Rey Buhisan (Misamis Occidental), and Louis Bollozos (Camiguin).
In an interview, Yasay said “there will be changes” during his administration, starting with the establishment of PBMLP-10’s identity.
The newly elected chairman said he will see to it that the officers and members of the PBMLP in Northern Mindanao will have a uniform that will identify them in the league’s activities.
“You can always be a public official and a public servant even without the uniform, but it’s a long forgotten promise from the previous PBMLP-10 leaderships. Today, we will assure the regional PBMLP council that we will have an identification and we will be recognized in the national level,” Yasay said.
Yasay said he will also be pushing for the simultaneous conduct of the PBMLP election nationwide, citing that other organizations of elected local government officials are doing it.
He added he will make it a point to hold a quarterly meeting of the PBMLP-10 regional officers to consult and discuss what the provincial legislators can do aside from crafting local laws.
“What can we possibly do beyond legislation, beyond implementation, and beyond innovation? Perhaps there are small things that will greatly help, not just to the PBMLP, not just to the local government, but the impact is a positive one to our respective communities,” Yasay said.
He said Misamis Oriental has not hosted the PBMLP regional convention in the last seven terms or 21 years.
“When I consulted this to Gov. Peter Unabia, he did not hesitate to lend his support, but only on one condition – that I will run as the regional chairman, and, if possible, to run as national president,” Yasay said.
For his part, Unabia said: “My commitment is to work not only for Misamis Oriental, but for the whole region.”
In his message to the PBMLP-10 members during the opening ceremony held Aug. 30, the governor said he believes that the people of Northern Mindanao will benefit from government services and interventions if all the region’s five provinces – Misamis Oriental, Misamis Occidental, Lanao del Norte, Camiguin, and Bukidnon – will work together for the common good.
