Mayor attributes Dumaguete’s 2018 gains to unity

 

DUMAGUETE CITY -- Mayor Felipe Antonio Remollo has cited numerous gains in 2018 of Dumaguete City, the provincial capital of Negros Oriental, in various fields that he attributed to the unity of city officials and the support of his constituents.

“We have a lot of things to be thankful for. Most of all, we thank the Lord for a united city council (that) led to appropriation of measures that I targeted for the past two years,” said Remollo in an interview on Sunday, just a day before the year ends.

As he summed up his administration’s accomplishments for this year, Remollo, who was elected mayor in 2016, vowed to finish different projects before his term ends middle of 2019.

“The remaining six months in my administration will be all implementation of the projects of the city,” stressed Remollo, as he pointed out that the appropriations for these projects have already been approved by the city council, thus these will not be covered by the election ban period next year.

“And so, we have received a lot of national, regional, and provincial awards and these include the national retiree-friendly city, best managed city, best LGU (local government unit) sports organizer of the year runner-up, and another runner-up finish in the sports destination of the year,” the mayor said.

Also, Dumaguete was awarded at the regional and provincial levels as a peaceful city, he added.

Awards

This year, the Dumaguete LGU garnered awards and recognitions from different areas, as it aggressively pushed for the city to live up to its latest tag as a retiree-friendly city.

The Philippine Retirement Authority named Dumaguete as the Best Retirement Area in the country.

A report from the Public Information Office said the city was also named “the 2nd most efficient government in the country among all component cities, having excelled in creating (a) business-friendly environment by cutting red tape and corrupt free transactions.”

Also, among other gains in 2018 were: 2017 Regional Best Public Employment Service Office (PESO) with its head, Ma. Socorro Mira, as "Best PESO Manager" of the region; Barangay Banilad as Outstanding Barangay and Maria Socorro A. Tuble of Poblacion 1 as 1st Runner Up in the Search for the Regional Outstanding BNS Award, received during the 2018 Grand NuTrition Awards in Region 7; one of the Most Peaceful and Child-Friendly cities in Central Visayas; and LGU Sports Organizer of the Year and Runner-Up as a Sports Tourism Destination of the Year in the Philippines, after Subic Freeport.

Meanwhile, the City Health Office also won regional awards for Regional Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit “Gawad Matanglawin” Award; Active and Responsive in Management, Outstanding in Risk Reduction in Emergencies and Disasters (ARMORRED) Award and Top Performing LGUs on Percentage of Households with Sanitary Toilet Facilities.

Five barangays in the city were also cited for Zero Open Defecation (ZOD) -- Barangays Bajumpandan, Candau-ay, Bunao, Daro and Cantil-e.

Peace and order

Putting premium on peace and order to make the city’s residents and visitors feel safe and secure, the city government has closely worked with the Philippine National Police (PNP) by providing equipment and other requirements of the Dumaguete Police Station.

Remollo’s administration handed out PHP 2 million worth of brand-new equipment, to include six units of 250cc motorcycles, military-type drones, body cameras, bulletproof vests, and 30 hand-held radio sets.

“We want to make sure that our policemen are equipped, to be able to respond to crimes taking place here,” the mayor said.

He lauded the Dumaguete PNP, headed by its police chief, Supt. Jonathan Pineda, for its accomplishments this year, which had led to the award as the Best City Police Station in the province, mainly due to its anti-illegal drugs campaign and the decrease in crime incidents.

As of Dec. 29, Pineda reported that the Dumaguete PNP confiscated illegal drugs worth over PHP7 million compared to PHP470,628 worth of drugs seized in 2017.

As to the number of persons arrested in the illegal drugs trade, 76 were arrested as of latest count this year compared with only 30 last year, he said.

Pineda had assumed as the city police chief in the last week of November 2017.

Sports tourism, cultural events boost visitor arrivals

With the numerous local, national, and international sporting events held here this year, it was not a surprise that Dumaguete bagged the Sports Tourism Organizer of the Year in the Philippines award.

Among the sporting events that the city had hosted were the National University Games (for three straight years), Dumaguete Dragon Boat Race (regional and international), Little League (Baseball, Softball) Philippine and Visayas region series, International Handball Tournament, Children's Games, Batang Pinoy (Visayas Leg), Regional Meet, Dumaguete Triathlon (Regional), and Beach Volleyball Republic.

The city has been selected as host of the Central Visayas Regional Athletics Association Meet, the Private Schools Athletic Association Meet next year, as well as the exhibition game between Ateneo and La Salle slated on February 2019.

Not only did the Dumaguete LGU host such big events, but it also ushered in a new trend for the city -- the best sports tourism destination in the country -- which City Tourism Office Jacqueline Veloso Antonio said has contributed to the spike in visitor arrivals here.

“There was a slight spike in tourism, though single digit, although I heard from our provincial tourism unit that this is (also) true for the rest of Central Visayas,” she said.

She, however, could not give specific figures as yet, as her office is still collating data on tourism influx from the last two months of the year from the hotels.

Antonio also attributed tourist arrivals to the city’s cultural events, for which she thanked the city government.

“Generally, in Dumaguete, we are grateful that most of our proposals on marketing and promotions were approved by the city mayor and the city council, so we were able to implement most of these,” she said.

She cited the city’s artists, the creative community of Dumaguete, which is represented through the Sandurot Festival, and the creative industries, such as the 6200 Pop Up organized by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), and the various cultural events that were organized by the schools in coordination with the local government, as also having helped push the city’s tourism promotions.

According to the local tourism official, to further boost the tourism industry in Dumaguete, her office is proposing for next year “to have a dedicated website just for tourism because of the large content” it requires.

“Although the city government already has its own website, having a separate tourism website will be very helpful for those planning to visit our city, as well as those who are already in the city, to access information about Dumaguete,” she explained.

Good governance

Since his assumption into office in mid-2016, Remollo's administration has not received any notice of disallowance from the Commission on Audit in all its financial transactions.

The administration adopted the merit-based hiring and promotions, mandatory drug tests for officials and employees, automated payroll system, and strict adherence to bidding processes.

Remollo disclosed that the city government, through the City Treasurer’s Office, will hit the PHP1-billion mark in local taxes, as its revenue collections for this year was doubled with an additional of almost PHP200 million in collections.

“Naa pa gyud nakalusot, naa pa pod deficiencies pero atong nakabot atong target (Some may have slipped past us, plus there are some deficiencies, but we have reached our target),” Remollo noted.

The enhancement of the Business One Stop Shop (BOSS), which allows easier processing of business transactions for government permits and other licenses, has resulted in more businesses in the city.

There are now 7,459 business establishments operating in the city in the first half of 2018 up from just 7,074 in 2016.

As a result, this has created 10,102 local jobs from July 2017 to June 2018.

City Treasurer Cristina Merced projected PHP324 million in revenues from local sources or businesses alone in 2019, thus, the city has approved its biggest ever budget at PHP790 million for 2019.

Priority projects

Priority projects of the Remollo administration in this current year include Christmas cash gifts under the Pamaskong Handog benefiting 16,605 indigent families, 8,336 senior citizens, and 769 PWDs or a total of 25,711 people receiving PHP 500 each; PLDT’s winning bid for the PHP69.7-million lease of the CCTV system in the next eight years; and the construction of two concrete bridges with a total cost of PHP75 million, which the City Council had already approved through the request of the mayor.

Noteworthy as well are the appropriation of PHP25 million for lot acquisition and construction of multi-purpose centers for five to six barangays and an additional PHP3.9 million for Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Fund; civil works for the restoration of the Old Presidencia and the Quadrangle, which is nearing completion by first quarter of 2019, to serve as a regional museum; the multi-million shoreline protection in the south end of the boulevard to shield the coastal communities of Poblacion 1 (Tinago), Calindagan, Mangnao, and Banilad from the rising sea water and storm surge; and the construction of a central Materials Recovery Facility in Barangay Candau-ay in response to the city’s garbage disposal woes.

International relations

Various diplomats visited the city to discuss with the mayor areas of mutual cooperation to promote trade, commerce, education, culture, sports, and tourism, the City PIO said.

Among those who came to Dumaguete were New Zealand Ambassador David Strachan, Russian Ambassador Igor Khovaev, British Ambassador to the Philippines Daniel Robert Pruce, Consul General Shi Yong of the People’s Republic of China, United States’ Deputy Chief of Mission Michael S. Klecheski, Ambassador Mohammad Tanhaei of the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and Singapore Ambassador to the Philippines Kok Li Peng.

Hope for the future

As he outlined some of the projects calendared for the next few remaining months of his administration, Remollo stressed, “there are still a lot of challenges pero amo gyud ning tinudon ang implementation despite the election ban kay napasar na ning appropriation (we will seriously implement these projects despite the election ban, as the appropriations have already been passed).”

Asked what his priorities would be if re-elected in the May 2019 election, the mayor replied: “Despite the many infra projects that we have, we never forget to prioritize social services. Sobrang na doble ang atong support sa senior citizens, PWDs, women, even children (we provided more than double our support for senior citizens, Persons with Disabilities, women, and even children).”

Just recently, 10,000 children participated in the city’s Children’s Games that featured “Pinoy” or native sports with lots of prizes and giveaways, he pointed out.

Remollo further disclosed: “We plan to finish the master plan, my pet master plan conceptualized 15 years ago ug karon atong gi revise (which we have now revised) and we hope to see a new government center, and after the museum has been completed, perhaps a new market, a new terminal for the city, and a new sports complex for the city of Dumaguete.”

As he extended his gratitude, he attributed his successes “to the unity of our people and their trust in my administration, the support given me, so that I am inspired to do more for our people.”

“We have united the barangays in the city and we thank the governor for his support for the city of Dumaguete. We also thank the congressman for his support and the number of projects he has brought to our district and especially to our city,” he said.

“But there is still more that we can do for our city in the future,” he concluded. (PNA)


News Feed:

http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1057722
Latest News | Philippine News Agency

Comments