The next 3 years

Published by the Visayan Daily Star Publications, Inc.

NINFA R. LEONARDIA Editor-in-Chief & President

CARLA P. GOMEZ Editor GUILLERMO TEJIDA III Desk Editor NANETTE L. GUADALQUIVER Busines Editor CEDELF P. TUPAS Sports Editor (On Leave) RENE GENOVE Bureau Chief, Dumaguete MAJA P. DELY Advertising Coordinator

CARLOS ANTONIO L. LEONARDIA Administrative Officer

Our newly elected local officials will assume office this week, and for the next three years, they will be given the chance to make their mark in the history of the areas where the voters have chosen them to be the leaders and representatives of their respective communities.

For those who have been re-elected, we hope that they do not take reelection as simply a reaffirmation of their past performance and programs and be content with the same old, tried and tested routines. While their experience with the system and the continuity of their successful programs is one of the things that sets re-electionists apart, they should not settle with complacency because they are still expected to push the limits and strive for greater excellence as they lead their towns and cities to new heights.

The newly-elected officials, who will mostly claim to have been thrust into power due to a popular clamor for change, also have a lot to live up to. While affecting positive change, they must also be humble enough to acknowledge the gains that have been made by their political foes and not resort to wholesale change for the sake of change, otherwise the progress our towns and cities will forever be stunted, sucked in the vicious cycle of destruction and rebuilding. New ideas are welcome, new faces are appreciated, but the bottomline is that the people who have voted them into office expect change for the better and not for the worse.

As our newly-elected officials assume their duties, may they never forget that they are ultimately beholden to us, the voters and the taxpayers who put them in power and pay their wages. This makes it completely reasonable for their constituents to expect the highest levels of transparency, accountability, excellence, morality, and the protection of the interest of the common good as they are entrusted with the leadership of our towns and cities for the next three years.*