Albay 2nd district Rep. Joey Salceda only has good things to say about newly-installed Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) secretary, Rex Gatchalian.
"I congratulate my colleague Rep. Rex Gatchalian for his designation as Secretary of the Department of Social Welfare and Development. He is obsessed with results. He will get things done," Salceda said of his erstwhile House of Representatives colleague.
"When I was Governor of Albay, Valenzuela was one of our toughest competitors for awards for good governance. Secretary Gatchalian has been one of the country’s most innovative mayors," said Salceda, chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means.
"Valenzuela has pioneered several best practices that many of us in government look up to as examples to emulate in our own communities. These include Bahay Kalinga for elderly citizens and the Valenzuela Child Protection Center," he said.
The Bicolano also said that Gatchalian’s governance of Valenzuela during the Covid-19 pandemic – through award-winning initiatives in contact tracing and the use of big data and statistics – "shows a commitment to evidenced-based and data-driven governance".
"I look forward to working with Secretary Gatchalian and I offer him my utmost support," concluded Salceda.
Gatchalian left his seat as Valenzuela City 1st district congressman following his appointment as DSWD secretary.