Sacrifice short-term needs with long-term requirements, says Aquino
President Benigno S. Aquino III asked the members of the 122-strong League of Cities of the Philippines on Saturday to “sacrifice your short-term political goals with long-term requirements of attaining progress and prosperity for all people, especially the poorest of the poor.”
In his address at the second-day of the 58th general assembly of the LCP held at the Century Park Hotel, the President said he is aware that most of the mayors will be seeking re-election in the next few years. “But I ask you to sacrifice your political goals by working on programs that will have long-term benefits for our people.”
Among those who attended the LCP meeting were Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo and the President’s runningmate, former Senator Mar Roxas.
The President recalled his recent visit to the coastal town of Bani in Pangasinan, now a relocation site for victims of storms Emong and Ondoy, where he saw the beauty of genuine cooperation and collaboration among the different sectors, including the national and local governments. The Department of Social Welfare provided P70,000 assistance per household while the Bureau of Mines and Geosciences certified the suitability of the site for relocation. Local and national governments poured resources into the project and the people themselves built their units.
He also cited the fast expansion of Convergys which expanded its facility in San Lazaro Manila within three months and is now putting up another facility in Muntinlupa that would generate 10,000 jobs for Filipinos.
According to the President, he met yesterday with the executives of General Electric, which recently broke ground for its new plant in the country. He said the company committed to set up shop in the country during their meeting at the United Nations last year.
“There are a lot of opportunities for our country and we must be fast in grabbing them. But like in one boat, we must all row in harmony and in unison otherwise we will not get anywhere,” the President told the city executives.
The President said he would keep his doors open to hear the problems, concerns and other suggestions from the Mayors on how to propel the country to greater heights.
He urged the mayors to be ingenious in their implementation of major projects citing as an example the use of coco coir in containing soil erosion and rip-rapping the slopes of the entire stretch of Subic-Clark Tarlac Expressway, which originally cost P2 billion but this actually cost P500 million with the coco coir, he said..
“If we use our funds more prudently and wisely then we have more funds left for other projects,” the President said.
He concluded saying that by 2016 “when I look back after stepping down with my head held high, I can proudly say that our country has truly gone a long way.” (PCOO)
City mayors vow full support for Aquino
President Benigno S. Aquino III was assured by the 122-member League of Cities of the Philippines (LCP) of their full support for his visions, plans and programs for the country’s growth and development.
The President was the guest of honor and speaker on the second day of the 58th general assembly of the LCP held at the Century Park Hotel on Saturday (January 8), where he was presented with the LCP Strategy Map and two Memorandum of Agreements the group signed with the Department of Education and the Institute of Solidarity in Asia.
LCP president Oscar Rodriguez said the mayors’ league is committed to work side by side with the national government in reducing poverty incidence and ensure the delivery of basic social services in line with the Millennium Development Goals.
Rodriguez (San Fernando City Mayor in Pampanga) noted that the Philippine cities will be the “engines of sustainable development, champions of good urban governance and catalysts for nation-building committed to the improvement of the lives of our constituents.”
He said, the LCP will expand the capabilities of its members to enable them to implement measures to reduce poverty, increase their local income, expand small to medium enterprises and lower their unemployment rates. “We will constantly track these indicators to monitor our performance,” Rodriguez added.
The sharing of best practices will be improved and institutionalized in partnership with the Department of Interior and Local Government, the local and international development partners, the private sector, NGOs and people’s organizations, added.
The LCP vows to enjoin cities to implement standards and reform policies and programs of the national government by strictly implementing the Anti-Red Tape Act in their areas.
“The League is your partner in creating a culture of good governance, of transparency and accountability,” Rodriguez said. (PCOO)
