Vice Gov. Manuel “Chaco” Sagarbarria, 38, took his oath of office as governor of Negros Oriental hours after the death of Gov. Carlo Jorge “Guido” Reyes on Wednesday morning, May 31.
Reyes, 62, who had reportedly been suffering from lung cancer died at a hospital in Metro Manila.
He died nearly three months after he took over as governor of Negros Oriental after Gov. Roel Degamo was assassinated in Pamplona on March 4.
Sagarbarria took his oath as governor before Executive Judge Gerardo Paguio Jr. Wednesday afternoon.
Board Member Jake Reyes also took his oath as vice governor by virtue of the rules of succession, Provincial Director Farah Gentuya of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG)-Negros Oriental said.
The two vacancies in the Provincial Board will have to be filled up by the political parties of Sagarbarria and Reyes, Gentuya said.
Sagarbarria, after taking his oath, ordered the flying of the Philippine flag in all government offices and schools in Negros Oriental at half-mast in honor of Reyes.
The new governor said he has “big shoes to fill” following Reyes’ death.
“Governor Guido was a well-loved and respected public servant with a big heart for public service, particularly in uplifting the welfare of our fellow Negrenses,” a post on the Negros Oriental Facebook page said.
Sagarbarria said he will prioritize the needs of the Negros Oriental Provincial Hospital and continue the programs and projects that Reyes had started in the short period that he was governor.
He pledged to do his best as governor of Negros Oriental, especially in serving its people.
Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson extended his condolences to the family of Reyes.
Reyes is the fourth Negros Oriental governor to die in office since 2010.
Then Governor Emilio Macias II died of liver cancer on June 13, 2010, a few weeks after he won the gubernatorial elections that year, and his successor Agustin Perdices, who was diagnosed with stomach cancer, passed away on Jan. 5, 2011.
This paved the way for Degamo to assume the post of Negros Oriental governor in 2011. *