BACOLOD City – The administration of defeated reelectionist Mayor Evelio Leonardia will be forming a transition team for the smooth assumption to office of Mayor-elect Afredo Benitez.
According to City Legal Office chief Joselito Bayatan, the transition team will be composed of the City Legal Office and City Administrator’s Office.
Bayatan said he would be one of the focal persons of the team together with career department heads.
Mayor-elect Benitez garnered 171,893 against Leonardia’s 107,447 votes in the recent elections.
Benitez recently disclosed that his political ally Cong. Greg Gasataya will lead his transition team.
Bayatan said preparing for transition is mandatory and the Department of Interior and Local Government will be supervising it.
He dismissed claims that in 2013 when Leonardia left as city mayor to become the Bacolod congressman, no transition team was formed to assist the then Mayor-elect Monico Puentevella.
In fact, Bayatan said, he was the focal person of the transition team that time./PN
