By Charissa Luci-Atienza "Hostility and hate have no place in nation-building." This was the reminder of reelected Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte to all outgoing local chief executives, even as he immediately sought the formation of transition teams to ensure the smooth transition of power in provinces, municipalities and cities. Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund "LRay" Villafuerte
(lrayvillafuerte.com / MANILA BULLETIN) "Outgoing LGU officials should chart a positive course for their successors and help them face the challenges ahead by extending whatever help they can to ensure the continuity of functions and delivery of services to the people," he said. He appealed to incumbent LGU officials who lost during the local elections to make the welfare of the people as their prime consideration, instead of their own personal and political interests. Villafuerte noted that the Department of the Interior and Local Government's (DILG), issued Memorandum No. 2019-39, which creates local governance transition teams for LGUs after the May 13 elections. Under the memorandum, the transition teams are expected to be chaired by the concerned local chief executives, with the respective vice chairpersons to be elected from among the members of the panels through a majority vote. Each team shall consist of LGU department heads, a DILG officer and a representative from civic groups, it said. Among the responsibilities of the transition teams are: conduct an inventory of all government properties, secure all official documents and records of transactions, and brief the incoming officials on the key challenges of local governance. Villafuerte, three-term CamSur governor from 2004 to 2013, was reelected as representative of the Province’s second district in the House of Representatives. His son, Miguel Luis Villafuerte, also won reelection as governor.