By YOLLY Z. SOTELO

SOMEWHERE in this paper is a story on former Governor Victor Agbayani extending a hand of reconciliation to the present governor, Amado Espino Jr. That was a nice gesture of the former governor, who, I remember, is a really humble guy. I hope Espino takes the cue, and accepts the hand of reconciliation.

Agbayani also reacted to the claim of Espino that the P300 loan was mismanaged by the provincial government.

A week ago, somebody told me why the provincial government took a loan when there was no project to be undertaken. I did not have the answer then, and it was only when I got a copy of the press statement of Agbayani on the matter that things got clear.

So there were proposed projects after all, and these were undertaken in accordance with strict rules and procedures.

One of the issues raised by Espino was that P266 million of the loan was released/paid to contractors within the eight months before the last elections, from September 2006 to June 28, 2007. It was an insinuation that the money was used for election purposes.

But as he pointed out in his speech, the loan was granted to the provincial government on May, 2006. I scrutinized the list of projects for which the loan was used, and I found out that the first projects were started on August and were paid the following month. Of course no project could not have been started right after the loan was taken from the Land Bank of the Philippines as there were procedures to be followed, like bidding, etc.

Espino also said that the last cash out (P11.9 million)from the loan was on June 28, 2007, or one and a half days before he assumed office on June 30. That is true, but what he did not mention, conveniently, was the P11.9 million was paid to projects that were started much earlier. One, an irrigation project in Buenlag, Calasiao, was started on September 23, 2007, and the two others, irrigation projects in San Carlos City and in Bayambang, were started on January 5, 2007.

Agbayani said that the last weeks of his term was not different from other weeks of work and that the province must continue to function up to the last day of the term. Why take that against him?

Besides, I supposed the contractors were worried that they will not be paid for the projects they undertook once the new leadership takes over the provincial government. They may have their reasons for believing so. And what they feared has come true, a contractor told me. He said he has yet to collect a sizable amount of money for a project he undertook during Agbayani’s term.

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I also cannot understand what’s wrong with having a day care center within the Capitol compound. Or has the governor not heard of gender-sensitive leadership yet?

Many private establishments and government agencies have put up day care centers within their areas to help mothers in their roles as mothers. Working mothers feel secure knowing that their children are somewhere near their workplace, taken cared of and learning the ABCs and 123s to boot. The secure feelings of the mothers, am sure, increase their productivity at work.

I remember that former Ilocos Norte Rep. Imee Marcos was the guest of honor when the day care center was inaugurated. She praised the provincial government for helping its working mothers, which help them become productive.

In case the new provincial leadership failed to notice yet, some establishments even put up rooms where mothers can collect their breast milk for their babies. These establishments even provide refrigerators for the milk.

But why is the day care center at the Capitol compound? I was informed that it was supposed to be located at the Provincial Social Welfare and Development. But the PSWD said there was no space for the center. Then why is the center under the management of the Provincial Population Office? Because the PSWD head reportedly bungled the job, depositing the P200 monthly payment of the children to his personal bank account! And he also was not paying his child’s fees.

The population office head was then asked to put an order to the center. The fees were paid at the treasurer’s office, and the staff was changed.

And why should a population office be managing the provincial livelihood program? Because it was handling a project that gave out loans to women in the rural areas. The project was successful that Agbayani decided that the population undertakes the provincial livelihood project.

Those were actually extra works for the population officer. But she did not complain. And she did not make a mess of the population program, her main work, which was so successful that it became a model in the entire country. The United States Agency for International Aid even acknowledged the provincial population office for its successful programs and projects.

I hope the new governor opens up her eyes, and heart, and not be blinded by what his much vaunted “intel group” feeds him. I tell you, some information fed to the new governor are simply not true. I know.