Pacamalan resigns; Bambi’s ex-girlfriend becomes more powerful
By Ben Balce
FOR weeks, it was made to appear that provincial administrator Edmundo Pacamalan Jr. took a leave of absence because of a trip to Dubai. What the capitol did not say was that Pacamalan’s plan was that he would no longer go back to work.
Pacamalan, one of the most trusted men of Misamis Oriental Gov. Yevgeny Vincente Emano, tendered his resignation last week, confirmed a highly placed capitol source close to the provincial administrator.
As Pacamalan resigned, Emano issued an order that gave his former girlfriend and assistant provincial administrator Ma. Caridad San Jose extra powers.
Sources at the capitol’s disaster risk-reduction management office which Pacamalan headed also told the Gold Star Daily that the provincial administrator has made it official––he resigned late last week.
Another source, Cagayan de Oro Press Club (COPC) president Jerry Orcullo who is Pacamalan’s friend, claimed that the administrator sent him a text message on Saturday to inform him about the resignation. The SMS from Pacamalan reads: “Good PM kas. Ne-resign nako. FYI.”
Orcullo said Pacamalan also sent another SMS that hinted about why he quit after years of serving in the government under Emano. (Before becoming the capitol’s administrator in 2013, Pacamalan served as the then congressman Emano’s chief of staff in the Lower House.)
Pacamalan’s SMS reads: “Di ba sa mga Marxists, ang tanan butang motubo, molambo ug mahanaw? Besides, there’s no monopoly on talents, skills, and abilities.”
Information about Pacamalan’s resignation leaked as early Thursday night, after Emano signed an administrative order that made Pacamalan’s former assistant, San Jose, the most powerful person in the capitol next to the governor.
Lawyer San Jose, incidentally, is Emano’s former sweetheart, and her role and working relationship with other capitol officials and workers allegedly factored in Pacamalan’s resignation.
Another key person in the Emano administration, acting provincial accountant Wilma Polley-Rugay, has reportedly taken a leave of absence and like Pacamalan, may no longer return.
Talk in the capitol has it that Rugay told Emano’s father Vicente, a former governor and Cagayan de Oro mayor that “I can serve your son but not Maricar (San Jose).” This could not be independently verified.
A SMS message circulated on Saturday among capitol employees hinted of bickerings in the Emano administration. It reads: “Igsoon kamusta, 1 yr palang ko sa capitol ug dili panako kaila ang mga tawo mas nakaila mo kanila pero usa lang nga sigurado ko mas kaila ko kong knsa si atty ma. caridad n. san jose people say istrecta cya but wala sila kahibalo that when people cry, she wept ang uban sab moingon dili siya maayo nga boss but y man giabot ko ug 13 years sa iya and counting bcoz behind this amor is a child busa niining mga panahona she need our support tungod kay naay mga pipila ka mga tawo gusto syang gubaon…”
On Friday, Emano released an administrative order redefining the duties, functions and responsibilities of San Jose who, officially and in paper, became assistant provincial administrator only on Jan. 3, 2015.
“For a more effective and efficient delivery of public services, there is a need to redefine the duties, functions of the acting assistant provincial administrator,” reads Emano’s Administrative Order no. 2015-01-A-1, dated March 4 but released on Friday.
Emano gave San Jose supervisory powers over the operations of the governor’s office, and all departments, including the capitol-owned hospitals, motorpool, and even the Misamis Oriental Telephone System (Misortel).
Capitol employees interviewed by this paper raised their eyebrows over Emano’s order, saying the administrative order has turned San Jose as Misamis Oriental’s de facto governor with Lionel Maandig Jr. and Carol Lim-Caidic as assistants.
San Jose’s other powers:
• ensures the implementation, and oversees all priority programs, projects and activities of the governor;
• approves purchase requests of all capitol departments, offices, and hospitals;
• reviews all purchase orders, vouchers, checks pertaining to the payments of goods delivered and services rendered to the provincial government before the governor signs, excluding payment of salaries, wages, and other statutory obligations to personnel benefits;
• approves disbursements of regularly recurring administrative expenses such as vouchers and checks for salaries, and statutory benefits of regular and permanent employees, light, water, and telephone expenses, remittances to government creditor agencies such as, but not limited to, GSIS, BIR, Philhealth, LBP, DBP, NPO, and PS of the DBM.
• signs and approves obligation requests of the governor’s office as requisitioning officer;
• approves all requests to render overtime services with pay and whenever necessary, issues memoranda to other departments for coordination and compliance purposes;
• receives correspondences from the Commission on Audit (COA) and national government agencies, and acts on matters pertaining to these on behalf of the governor;
• reviews all communications intended for the governor, and acts on behalf of the governor;
• sits as a member of the local finance committee;
• approves and signs the following: payrolls for salaries, and statutory benefits of regular and casual employees, leaves of absences and other personnel actions, including termination, attendance and travel of employees to meetings and seminars within and outside the city and province, payrolls of “job-order” workers, obligation requests, daily time records, and accomplishment reports of workers.
The administrative order however stated that Pacamalan would be the provincial administrator and concurrent acting department head of the disaster risk-reduction and management office.
