Archival wants honor graduates, topnotchers

CEBU, Philippines — Less than a month before he officially assumes office, Cebu City Mayor-elect Nestor Archival is calling on Latin honor graduates and board topnotchers to join his transition team and help “re-engineer” the Cebu City Government.

On Monday, Archival posted on his official Facebook page a call for “Cebu’s Brightest Young Leaders”—specifically, those who graduated with Latin honors or topped board exams—to take part in transforming city governance.

“We’re looking for a few sharp, driven young professionals to help re-engineer the Cebu City Government. If you’re from Cebu and graduated (within the last ten years) with Latin honors or are a board topnotcher, this is your chance to make a real impact,” he wrote.

Vice Mayor-elect Tomas Osmeña later echoed the call, emphasizing that they are not seeking individuals who are already jaded by how things are, but rather those with the potential to “transform things into how they should be.”

Osmeña also pointed out that inexperience—particularly in government—can actually be an asset in this case.

In an interview, Archival, who is an electrical engineer by profession, explained that the main responsibility of those joining the team would be to help craft solutions and address ongoing problems.

“Kaning mga tawhana naghimo ug ways unsaon pag-develop sa mga angay i-develop. The other thing is nangita sila ug paagi sa pag-solve sa mga problema nga existing,” Archival said.

He added that assignments would depend on the applicants’ specific fields of expertise.

“Tan-awon lang nato ug kinsay mga tawo nga ganahan, and then from there, ug unsay ilang mga expertise, tan-awon nato ug asa nato sila mabutang ug unsay mga assignment,” he said.

Despite the opportunity, Archival’s post drew mixed reactions, with some netizens criticizing the perceived exclusivity of the callout—arguing that it might discriminate against qualified individuals who did not receive academic distinctions.

“Oy! naa man discrimination! Dapat anyone is welcome to apply,” one netizen commented.

Addressing the criticism, Archival clarified in an interview:

“Naa tay dako nga gitan-aw nga atong himuon, so kinahanglan ta ug mga tawo nga dayon makatabang… it doesn’t mean nga katong mga tawo nga dili honors, dili kamao.”

He also added, “Para nako, it’s not exclusive, it’s a matter of timing.”

Archival later said that the criteria will be broadened in the future to include non-Latin honor graduates and those who did not top board exams.

Interested applicants are advised to send their applications directly to Archival’s inbox. — Caren Itolle, CNU Intern  (FREEMAN)