Bacolod mayor-elect Alfredo “Albee” Benitez said Monday, June 6, that he has chosen lawyer Romeo Carlos Ting Jr. to be the new city legal officer when he officially assumes his post on June 30.
Ting, 50, who heads the Ting Law Office, said he has been practicing law for almost 20 years. This is a new challenge, Ting said, of his upcoming job as city legal officer.
Earlier Benitez also announced that lawyer Pacifico Maghari III will serve as city administrator and lawyer Karol Joseph Chiu will be secretary to the mayor.
Maghari, Chiu, Ting, Councilor Al Victor Espino and former councilor Caesar Distrito are members of the transition team of Benitez that is headed by Bacolod Rep. Greg Gasataya.
They are asking that the meeting of their transition team with that of outgoing Mayor Evelio Leonardia be moved up to early June, Maghari said.
They received a letter from Bacolod City Director Ma. Joy Maredith Madayag of the Department of the Interior and Local Government stating that an initial meeting of the transition teams has been set on June 22.
The transition teams are created to ensure the effective transition and smooth turnover of responsibilities as provided for in DILG Memorandum Circular 2022-029, Madayag said.
Ma. Victoria Parreñas, acting secretary to the mayor, in a letter of Madayag dated June 1 said they are in the process of collecting and organizing the required documents and records from the concerned departments for submission to the representatives of Benitez.
They would like the meeting of the transition teams to be held earlier as June 22 is very close to the takeover date on June 30, Maghari said.*