“It is important that we have leadership that we can trust, someone who has integrity, who will do the right thing even if no one is watching.” Mayoral candidate and Zamboanga Vice Mayor Rommel “Meng” Agan opened the VALIENTE: Mayoral Candidates’ Forum with a promise of an honest government where the resources are entirely returned to the people through services, projects, and relief. He asserted that the government position should not be treated as a business opportunity and claimed that he and his family never profited from government transactions.
Agan seeks to regulate the illegal operation of finger or mini wharves to safeguard the city by shutting down those identified by the Task Force Pantalan that are unwilling to comply and register within a given period. He affirmed that there is a need to balance economic interests and the protection of the city from illegal activities potentially present in these private wharves.
As a proud father of a child with special needs, Agan also believes that the best way of offering equal opportunities to the priority sectors (PWDs, former PDLs, and solo parents) is by demonstrating that the government can be a model employer. He is a believer of meritocracy. “If the special sectors have the skills and talents, their disabilities should not be a reason that they would not be considered for employment,” he said. The incumbent vice mayor also hopes that the proposed ordinance concerning the employment of former PDLs will be approved by the council.
Agan is one of the few candidates (along with independent candidate Ismail Karim Bahjin) who support the conversion of selected barangays into municipalities to fast-track and disperse development. He is also in favor of opening face-to-face classes and establishing night markets as an avenue for MSMEs to earn and a chance for people to relax and enjoy.
When asked about his plan in allocating funds for indigenous peoples, Agan vowed to follow the rule of law, as a lawyer, and respect the entitlements given by the law to IPs and ICCs and their ancestral domains.
This Forum Review is part of The BEACON’s series on local elections. The VALIENTE: Mayoral Candidates’ Forum was held last April 9, 2022 at the Faustino W Saavedra Multi-Purpose Hall in the Ateneo de Zamboanga University Salvador Campus.
