Dubbed as BDO-LS
MATAG-OB, Leyte– The alliance has no political intention but to help them promote their tourism sector, achieve development, and extend assistance in case of a disaster situation.
This was stressed by the mayors who are part of the alliance, dubbed as BDO-LS, which is taken from the names of the mayors.
It stands for ‘Bernie’ Tacoy of Matag-ob; ‘Dodo’ Cordeño of Isabel, (Ramon) Oñate of Palompon; ‘Lando’ Villasencio of Merida and Sixto de la Victoria of Albuera.
The mayors of the towns said that their primary purpose in forming the alliance should not be misconstrued to be politically motivated but rather to enhance primarily their respective tourism industry and achieve their ‘shared goals’ like development and extend assistance when one is in need.
It was learned that it was Mayor Tacoy who initiated the alliance on the ground that among the members of the group, he was the neophyte.
“I want to learn from them. So we came up with this alliance, initially for me, as a neophyte mayor, to learn from them and how they can help me run my municipality,” he said on Thursday (June 8).
Later, the alliance evolved into extending assistance to each municipality by promoting their tourism assets, and in the process, help these towns achieve a degree of economic development, Tacoy said.
“The main purpose of this alliance is to help, cooperate, share ideas, and collaborate among member municipalities,” he stressed.
Palompon, for one, is the site of the famous Kalanggaman Island, considered Eastern Visayas premier tourist destination.
Mayor Oñate said that tourists who visit Kalanggaman Island could also visit the tourist destinations of the member towns.
“After their visit to Kalanggaman, they can also visit, say, Matag-ob or Isabel,” he said.
Both towns, including Almeria, have mountain resorts that tourists could enjoy and visit.
“If we work in our own ways, it will be difficult for us considering that we are just small municipalities. But if we will work as one, it will be easy for us to achieve our shared goals and deliver (these) goals to our constituents,” Oñate said.
Asked if they have any political agenda in forming the alliance, the mayors denied that they have such a plan.
“There is no political agenda among us mayors. No one has the desire to run for (higher position) like a congressman,” Tacoy said.
This was seconded by Isabel Mayor Cordeño saying they want to improve their respective municipalities ‘for the benefit of our constituents.’
‘We don’t have any interest (for a congressional post). We just want to protect our people,” he added.
The areas involved in the alliance belong to the fourth congressional district of Leyte which is currently represented by Rep. Richard Gomez.
(JOEY A. GABIETA)
