La Union mayor resigns due to illness

BACNOTAN, La Union – The mayor of this town has resigned for health reasons.

Minda Fontanilla, 79, submitted her resignation letter to the Department of the Interior and Local Government in San Fernando City on Tuesday.  Her son, Vice Mayor Francisco Fontanilla, replaced her and took his oath before La Union Gov. Manuel Ortega yesterday. 

Paul Lalata, DILG provincial director, told The STAR that Fontanilla did not indicate her illness in the resignation letter. 

The elder Fontanilla was the mayor of this town from 2001 to 2010, vice mayor from 2010 and 2011, and took over as mayor in 2012 when her husband Rufino Sr. died of cancer. 

Franklin Almodovar, the number one municipal councilor, took his oath as the town’s new vice mayor. – Jun Elias