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The Hon. Renato A. Fuentes,
Presiding Judge of the Regional
Trial Court, Branch 17
Pastor Apollo C. Quiboloy
Distinguished Members of the
Diplomatic Corps
Chief Superintendent Isidro
Lapeña of the PNP Regional
Office XI
Col. Gaudencio Pangilinan of
Task Force Davao
The Officers, Men and Women of the
Philippine National Police and the
Armed Forces of the Philippines. The
Regional Directors and Heads of
Offices of the National Government
Agencies Our very active partners
and friends in the business sector,
The various organizations
representing the civil society, Our
esteemed and respected church and
religious leaders Vice Mayor
Louie Bonguyan and Members of
the City Council, Barangay Officials
Fellow workers in government,
Members of the Media, My mother and
members of the family, Friends,
Ladies and Gentlemen
Good Morning… Maayong Buntag
Kaninyong Tanan
I stand before you today with mixed
emotions.
• Grateful to God that by His grace
He made this day possible.
• Honored for having been elected as
Mayor of Our Beloved City for the
fifth time.
• Humbled by the overwhelming
mandate you have given me.
• Beholden to you for your trust and
confidence.
• Contemplative of the tasks ahead
knowing it will not be easy.
• Determined and committed to do
what is right for the greater good.
 We shall continue to pursue the path
to the sustainable development of
our city – it is the only way!
I take it as a fundamental
obligation to ensure the peace and
security of every law abiding
citizen of our city.
Criminals and lawless elements
cannot be allowed to roam the
streets of the city freely. They
have no place and tey are not needed
in the city of Davao. We will not
allow them to disturb the peace and
tranquility of our people and our
city.
Terrorist cannot dictate the way we
live. We will institute proactive
measures and initiate preemptive
actions to protect our city and our
people.
We
will not just stand and watch as
illegal drugs destroy our youth- our
future, and the very fiber of our
society. We will apply the full
force of the law to the lawless and
we will consider that they have
placed their lives on the line when
they engage in the prohibited drug
trade.
Your city government will continue
to dialogue with the progressive
groups and the ideologues. In order
to address issues of mutual concern,
we will explore options and pursue
alternative courses of action
beneficial to the masses.
Our Muslim brothers and sisters will
always have a significant role in
governance and in the development of
our city.
I will be one with them in the
pursuit and realization of bangsamoro state under a federal
system of government.
In the meantime, I have ordered the
strengthening of the Madrasah
program for our Muslim children and
others to be taught and to
understand the Islamic philosophy of
education for peace, progress and
development of our society as a
whole.
In response to the clamor of our
people and in line with our
development thrusts and priorities,
I have lined up specific projects
that I will start and finish before
my term of office ends. The major
projects include:
1. Urban drainage and flood control
projects - this will include
eighteen (18 ) main drainage lines
costing 250 million pesos from
lizada to sasa to address flooding
in large low lying areas, partly
developed areas and areas expected
for major development in the
immediate term. Main drain
alignments will be effectively
established and project proponents
can then integrate their specific
site development plans to the main
drains.
2. Sensorized traffic signalization
project – this is a state-of-the-art
adaptive traffic control system that
will initially cover forty-six (46)
critical intersections from sasa to
toril. This project costing 350
million pesos is designed to ease
traffic flow and facilitate the
movement of vehicles, people and
goods to and from various points of
destination and the central business
district. It will also be a key
component of our peace and order
program with the use of monitoring
cameras in eight pre-selected
intersections.
3. Shelter and Urban Land Reform
Prorgam – the city government will
accelerate its urban land reform
program by acquiring and developing
suitable lands as relocation sites.
The city will allocate not less than
100 million pesos for this program
and if necessary, we will invoke the
power of eminent domain to acquire
and develop idle lands suitable for
housing, we will continue to address
the shelter needs of qualified
beneficiaries especially those who
cannot afford to access the formal
housing programs. We will strengthen
partnerships with the private sectod
just like with the couples for
Christ in its gawad kalinga program
and all those interested in this
endeavor.
4. Farm to Market / Alternate Roads
Project – Immediate priority will be
given to two (2) major sections in
our road infrastructure program.
These are the Bunawan-Cabantian and
Calinan-Toril Road sections totaling
forty five (45) kilometers in length
and estimated to require 160 million
pesos for concreting and widening.
The development of these roads will
provide alternate routes for
motorists, decongest the existing
road networks, serve as production
roads for our agricultural products
and open up opportunities in
potential production areas which are
currently undeveloped and untapped.
We will also give special attention
to the Magtuod- Calinan Road, the
Matina Pangi- Mintal Road and the
Calinan-Baracatan Agri-Tourism Road.
To realize these projects, we will
optimize the resources available to
us. We will embark on a loan program
within the range of 900 million to
one billion pesos to pumprime the
city’s economy.
These projects will provide direct
employment to our people; job
opportunities in related activities;
Stimulate downstream and ancillary
industries; and sustain consumer
spending at various levels.
We all know the tight fiscal
situation of the national government
and the limited project funds that
maybe made available to the local
governments. We will aggressively
pursue the public investment
initiatives necessary for business
to prosper and for the city to
progress.
We will observe sound fiscal
management, maximize out tax bse,
improve efficiency in revenue
collection and exact compliance from
delinquent and erring taxpayers.
We will intensify our efforts to
promote our city as a wholesome
tourist destination and as a viable
place for investments. The
partnerships we have forged with the
city’s chamber of commerce and the
tourism associations shall be
reinforced in the pursuit of
mutually beneficial undertakings. We
will ensure that our preferred
investment areas are attuned with
the demands of the times.
We will strengthen our relations
with the major cities within the
BIMP EAGA and the other countries of
the world.
We will revive the management
committee for the development of the
Elias B. Lopez Sports complex in
accordance with the memorandum of
agreement with the University of the
Philippines – Mindanao. The
feasibility study for the
development of a multi-sports
facility that is capable of hosting
national and international sporting
events, a place for training young
people and athletes who can compete
with the best will be completed and
the investment requirement
determined. The phased development
of essential facilities will be
initiated.
Our focus on environment and natural
resources management shall be
principally directed on ecological
solid waste management, watershed
rehabilitation and coastal resources
management. These three main
concerns will all require the
involvement and participation of
people and communities; the
dissemination of information; and
the provision of alternative
livelihood.
As we aggressively pursue the
implementation of our major programs
and projects in the next three
years, we will continue to
strengthen our ongoing programs in
the provision of health and social
services.
Our Lingap para sa Mahirap being
implemented in partnership with the
Davao Medical Center will be
sustained and its system of
availment improved. We will make
sure that we will have enough funds
to address the needs of the
indigents for medicines and medical
services. In these difficult times,
they look upon the city government
for help in accessing medical care
and life-saving medicines.
Constraints and barriers in the
participation of women in
development shall be eliminated. The
population of our city which now
stands at 1.3 million is expected to
double in twenty years if current
growth rates continue. This will
strain the resources of the city to
meet the needs of its people and
constrain the meaningful
participation of women.
The reproductive health program
shall be promoted to control and
manage population within the
framework of empowering women to
make informed choices for their own
bodies as well as ensuring that men
and women equally share in all forms
of reproductive activities.
The rights of the child will always
remain at the top of our priorities.
We will continue to pursue
meaningful programs using the
lifecycle approach to benefit the
child, in partnership with the
United Nation’s Childrens Fund and
other pro-active groups.
We will continue strong city
government support in education by
assisting and encouraging capability
enhancement programs for teachers,
improving existing facilities,
constructing new school buildings
and comfort rooms and ensuring the
maintenance of clean and sanitary
surroundings in schools.
The operations of the Davao City
Rehabilitation Center for drug
dependents will be sustained and
enhanced. As we do not compromise
with those who profit from the
illegal drug trade, we will always
explore all possible options to
assist the victims of this menace to
regain their rightful place as
productive and responsible members
of society.
We will address important concerns
of persons with disability and
proide them equal opportunity in
employment. Appropriate facilities
for the productive participation in
the community of the elderly and
persons with disability will be
given priority.
Activities that will focus and will
highlight the productive
participation of those who may be
considered as belonging to
disadvantaged or marginalizaed
sectors will be encouraged and
strongly supported.
These programs and projects are by
no means easy to accomplish, but it
is my firm belief that by working
together, we will succeed.
My administration will always be for
the hopeless, the defenseless, the
helpless and those who do not know
where to go in times of need.
You have my commitment and assurance
that as your Mayor, I will do
everything that is humanly possible
to protect and defend the rights and
interest of our people and our city.
Daghang Salamat. |
