Gov. Erico Aristotle Aumentado is again travelling outside the country in his third official trip after assuming his present position at the Capitol.
A memorandum was signed by the governor on Feb. 22, 2023, where he designated Vice Gov. Dionisio Victor Balite as the acting governor of the province during the former’s absence. Based on the memorandum that was furnished by a source to THE BOHOL TRIBUNE, Aumentado will be off to Israel today. The memorandum also indicates that the governor named Balite as acting governor for the period from Feb. 26 to March 4, 2023.
For this year 2023, this will be the first overseas travel of the governor, but this is his third official foreign trip since he assumed the position of governor of the province of Bohol on June 30, 2022.
Based on the posts of the governor, Aumentado went to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Oct. 3, 2023.
After his Kuala Lumpur trip, the governor went to South Korea on October 22, 2022.
According to the memorandum, Balite assumes the position of acting governor upon Aumentado’s departure. Balite’s capacity as acting governor shall have been terminated when Aumentado returns from his Israel trip.
QUESTIONS
Observers ask: Who are included in the governor’s party for his trip to Israel? A source pointed out that one provincial government employee apparently is included in the governor’s entourage each time there is a governor’s trip abroad. The same source also said that, allegedly, the employee is a trusted special assistant to the governor. In this connection, another question has cropped up: What is the designation of this employee who is allegedly going with the governor to his trip abroad?
Observers are curious about who is going to foot the bill of this trip to Israel? Will it be the government of Israel or the government of the province of Bohol.
Observers, who have the right to know, are asking for the real reason why the governor will spend several days abroad especially in the said Middle Eastern country.
Moreover, the province has yet to feel the impact of the South Korean and Malaysian travels of Gov. Aumentado in terms of poverty alleviation, among others. There has been no report of any significant impact created by these foreign trips of the governor, the same observers quip.