TACLOBAN CITY- Mayor Stephany Uy-Tan said that she made a ‘sacrifice’ when she decided not to seek reelection as mayor of Catbalogan City.
Uy-Tan withdrew her certificate of candidacy on November 29, the last day of filing on substitution for candidates running in next year’s elections days after the Office of Ombudsman slapped her a six-month preventive suspension without pay.
The decision of the anti-graft court stemmed on a complaint lodged against her, Vice Mayor Sherwin Art Gabon, seven councilors to include Uy-Tan’s father, Coefredo, and several City Hall personnel involving a land deal and a lease agreement entered with a private company.
The suspension order issued against Uy-Tan and her co-respondents has yet to be served to them as of this writing.
Uy-Tan was substituted by her younger brother, Dexter who was once the city federation president of the Sangguniang Panlungsod.
The beleaguered city mayor, who is serving on her second term, will run for councilor instead.
“It’s more of the desire that the people of Catbalogan will continue to receive the best service the government has to offer and has nothing to do with the reported suspension issued to all local officials of Catbalogan,”she said, referring to her decision not to seek reelection.
“It’s just that I don’t want the city to suffer because of this. My political opponents are very vocal that they have prepared a long list of cases to be filed against me,” she added.
Uy-Tan said that she is confident that her brother, once elected as mayor, could also provide programs and projects that would benefit the people of the city.
“My brother, Dexter, will be running instead of me.I believe that as a councilor, I can still offer a big help for the first term of my brother,” the mayor, who also served as a councilor before getting elected as chief executive of the city, said.
(LIZBETH ANN A. ABELLA)
