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Mayor Sara Z. Duterte’s State of the City Address

State of the City Address

Sara Z. Duterte
City Mayor of Davao

September 12, 2017

Session Hall, Sangguniang Panlungsod Bldg.,
San Pedro Street, Davao City

Byaheng DO30 is a 3-year initiative of at least 30 doable and meaningful projects starting 2016. These projects would contribute to the security and sustainable development of Davao City. We can achieve security and development if we are able to reduce poverty incidence, create a skilled and educated workforce and support globally competitive businesses.

The City Government of Davao envisions a future for Davao City where families can provide sufficient food for themselves, their children are skilled or college graduates and they live in decent housing. My administration has identified ten priority areas to build Davao City around this vision. These priorities are Poverty Alleviation, Infrastructure Development, Solid Waste Management, Education, Health, Agriculture, Tourism, Transportation Planning and Traffic Management, Peace and Order, and Disaster Risk Reduction and Mitigation.

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Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio delivers her State of the City Address on Tuesday, September 12, highlighting city government’s accomplishments and future plans for the city. MiINDANEWS PHOTO

The following are the highlights of the reports of the different offices. They have done these on top of their other duties mandated by the Local Government Code.

POVERTY ALLEVIATION

Medical Assistance. We have continued the Lingap para sa Mahirap project of giving medical assistance to those who may need it and we created the Pagkalinga sa Bayan, which is a one stop shop (OSS) for the agencies of the Lingap para sa Mahirap, Department of Social Welfare and Development (DCWD), Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) and PhilHealth. The Pagkalinga is temporarily housed inside the Lingap para sa Mahirap office and we would like to thank Dr. Leopoldo Vega for granting a portion of the SPMC compound for the construction of the Pagkalinga building.

Housing. We have accepted the partnership with San Miguel Foundation, Pilipinong May Puso Foundation, and the National Housing Authority to build a housing project in the city property located in Los Amigos. The project, Biyaya ng Pagbabago, will showcase what we want to do for relocation in urban areas – multi-story buildings with residential units. The contractor of this project already started their pre-building construction on the site and we are waiting for the final survey result.

Job Matching. From June to December 2016, there were 26,000 job vacancies solicited by the Public Employment Service Office from different private establishments and a total of 8,582 jobseekers were referred, 70.57% of which were placed for employment.

Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Support. Mag-Negosyo ta ‘Day is a project intended to provide livelihood assistance to marginalized women who are victims of poverty and injustice. We have two ways to access support – first is through the Grow-Micro Business Program of the City Cooperative Office and the Agri-Fishery Livelihood and Entrepreneur Development of the City Agriculturist’s Office.

For the first semester of 2017, a total of ₱666,000.00 of capital seed fund under the Sustainable Livelihood Program of the CSSDO was released to 107 beneficiaries consisting of solo parents, unemployed women and victims of violence against women, persons with disabilities, older persons and out-of-school youths; while ₱420,000.00 were released to 56 families in July to December 2016.

Skills Training. Our partnership for skills training and community-based programs with TESDA in the amount of Php4,000,000 has produced 956 beneficiaries in 2016 and so far, 350 persons in 2017.

Business Taxes. From July 2016 to June 2017 there were 41,365 old and new businesses which generated approximately ₱247,903,335,419.18 and created approximately 214,686 jobs. We cannot give you a comparative chart from 2016 to 2017 because we used only the data when I started my term. We will be able to give you a better comparative picture next year, and rest assured our numbers are increasing. Our Business Permits and Licensing Office have intensified its operations against establishments without business permits, particularly, inns, lodging and boarding houses that criminals can easily use to plan and execute their illegal activities.

Shelters. From the period July 2016 to present, ₱50,000,000 has been allocated for the establishment, operation and maintenance and Upgrading and Standardization of Residential Facilities to satisfactorily meet the accreditation requirements of DSWD Standards Bureau.

  • Crisis Intervention Center (CIC) Balay Dangupan was accredited First Level Standards on August 2, 2016
  • Co Su Gian Home for the Aged and Abandoned Elderly was accredited Second Level Standards on August 3, 2016
  • Maintenance of the following centers:
  • Paginhawaan Drop-In Center for Abandoned and Neglected Street Children
  • Sidlakan for Victims of Domestic Violence
  • Lingap Center for Mentally-Challenged Children
  • BahayPag-asa for Children in Conflict with the Law
  • Quick Response Team for Children’s Concerns

Child Protection. Kean Gabriel Hotline 0908 818 4444 is our child abuse reporting number. Since the establishment of the hotline, we have been able to rescue 483 children. The Almighty has been very kind since we have not had a child death due to abuse in the past six months.

LGBT Community. The City Government promotes inclusiveness and we shall see to it that our LGBT community is always represented in our events and in the implementation of our programs. We shall also continually address their concerns and direct our efforts to giving them equal opportunities and eliminating discrimination.

EDUCATION

Special Education Fund.

  • Examined 47,733 students under the Universal Medical Dental Check-up Program with the following breakdown:
  • 1,555 preschoolers
    18,899 elementary pupils
    27,279 secondary students
  • A total of 1,645 students were enrolled in Sunday High School Program for the SY 2016-2017
  • A total of 30 Secondary Schools benefitted from provision of Technology and Livelihood Education (TLE) equipment while 5 Secondary Schools benefitted from the provision of Science equipment and apparatus
  • There were 36 students enrolled in the Alternative Learning System (ALS) Basic Literacy Program; 1,696 in the Accreditation and Equivalency (A&E) Elementary & Secondary Program; 2,265 in the Nonformal Education Accreditation and Equivalency (NFE-A&E) Program; and 1,702 in the Informal Education (INFED) Literacy cum Livelihood Skills Training Program
  • Provided assistance (training and financial) to 540 delegates who participated in the 2017 Davao Regional Athletic Association (DAVRAA) Meet in Mati Centennial Sports Complex, Mati City last March 19-24, 2017. Davao City was hailed as the over-all champion both in elementary and secondary levels
  • Provided financial assistance and incentives to 259 athletes who represented the region in the 2017 Palarong Pambansa held at Hamtic, Antique last April 23-29, 2017

Classroom Shortage. At the start of the school year 2016-2017, we have a classroom shortage of 851. Appropriations using the Special Education Fund for the school year have trimmed down the shortage by 22% or 665 classrooms for the current school year.

Educational Benefit Systems Unit. A total of 1,059 City Government Scholars were enrolled during the 1st semester of SY 2017-2018, as follows:

  • Scholarship on Tertiary Education Program (STEP) -560 students
  • Financial Assistance Program for Lumads – 52 students
  • Medical and Law School Educational Assistance Program – 37 medical students and 19 law students
  • Technical and Vocational Skills Training Program – 49 students
  • Education Assistance for Persons with Disability or Persons with Special Needs – 14 students
  • Education Assistance for the twin bombing victims and their beneficiaries – 80 students
  • Special Educational Assistance Program – 248 students

We are still mulling the possibility of a City College, however, based on my personal experience in government, operating businesses usually deteriorate over time and the quality of service becomes stagnant. I believe using scholarships to send students to world class private schools is a better strategy and better for their resume. Be that as it may, we plan to include a feasibility study in the 2018 budget for a community college and community hospital.

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Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio faces the media after she delivered her State of the City Address on Tuesday, September 12, highlighting city government’s accomplishments and future plans for the city. MINDANEWS PHOTO

We have increased the honorarium of our home-based day care teachers and some of the barangay-based teachers.  We believe that the increased incentives will improve the quality of the educational preparation made for our young children’s entry to kindergarten.

HEALTH

Family Planning. Contraceptive Prevalence Rate has improved from 50.7% (104,268) in the second semester of 2016 to 53.6% (112,077) in the first semester of 2017. For the period July to December 201615 Women of Reproductive Age were ligated and 72 males were vasectomised. During the period January to June 2017- there were 75 women ligated and 36 males vasectomized.

Nutrition Program. Significant decrease was observed in the number of malnourished children. The number of stunted children decreased from 14,905 (6%) in the second semester of 2016 to 10,276 (5%) in the first semester of 2017. There was also a decrease in the number of wasted children from 2,224 (1.1%) in the second semester of 2016, to 1,807 (0.9%) in the first semester of 2017. The number of severely wasted children has considerably declined from 512 (0.3%) in the second semester of 2016 to 166 (0.1%) in the first semester of 2017.

Anti-Rabies Campaign. The number of animal bite victims that were seen and provided with Post Exposure Treatment has increased from 6,950 in July to December 2016 to 7,736 in January to June 2017. Zero mortality on human rabies has been recorded during the period of January to June 2017.

Malaria Prevention & Control Program & Services. Zero cases of malaria in endemic barangays of Marilog and Paquibato from July 2016 – June 2017 have been recorded due to sustained activities for malaria prevention.

Dengue Prevention & Control Program.  A significant decrease in dengue cases from 1,828 during the period of July to December 2016 to 703 dengue cases for the period of January to June 2017 was noted. This is due to the massive IEC campaigns and other strategies such as fogging and soaking of curtains and mosquito nets.

STI, HIV and AIDS Program – Reproductive Health and Wellness Center. The Reproductive Health & Wellness Center (RHWC) has been established as one of the treatment hubs in the country for People Living with HIV & AIDS (PLHIV). There are about 524 PLHIVs diagnosed from January to June 2017.  Only 259 or 49% undergoing treatment with RHWC for January to June 2017.

Rehabilitation. We are constructing a new Drug Rehabilitation Center located in Malagos, Baguio District. The groundbreaking ceremony was held last December 7, 2016. We have offered to partner with the Department of Health for them to operate the facility as a Region XI Drug Center. I would like to express our gratitude to the Philippine Amusements and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR), Resorts World Foundation, and all our other private partners who are making this project a possibility.

AGRICULTURE

We envision a formidable agricultural sector that is not weather dependent and is resilient to climate change. We would like our farmers to become business-oriented partners. We want to see an end to the slavery of farmers by financiers.

Demo Farm. To this end, we want to develop the government property in Malagos as an Organic Farm and Agriculture Training Center which will showcase the how-to’s and other Do-It-Yourself’s of organic farming in an integrated farm presentation to inspire small to medium sized current and future farmers of the city. As the project inspires visitors to engage in farming, the Center shall house the City’s own training center catering to agri-business enthusiasts as well as basic education to K-12 agriculture learners. It is envisioned to draw not only learners but agri-tourists as well, which shall showcase the abundance and vibrance of the city’s agriculture sector.

Urban Container Gardening. The Davao City Rooftop Garden in the City Hall Annex building serves as the model set up for the urban container gardening movement to promote urban organic farming as a scheme to guarantee food and environmental safety as well as reduce expenses through application of organic fertilizers. We would like to teach people to plant even without backyards so that they may have food on hand which would mean savings to their grocery budget.

Chocolate Capital of the Philippines. This is designed to develop the cacao industry in the city. It will provide an opportunity for the small entrepreneurs, marginal farmers, upland farmers, and indigenous people of Davao City to be players in the cacao and chocolate industry by producing globally competitive quality chocolates. We have an On-going implementation of the Cacao Production and Marketing of Dry Fermented Beans, a sub-project under the Philippine Rural Development Project-Investment in Rural Enterprise and Agriculture and Fisheries Productivity (PRDP-IREAP) with Subasta Integrated Multi-Purpose Cooperative (SIMPC). The project has 16 cluster members from Calinan, Tugbok, Baguio, and Marilog Districts with a total of 227 recipients, which includes 97 members of the Indigenous Peoples group. We also supported the protection of our marine areas and our fisherfolk. We have partnered with the Department of Agriculture for the distribution of 300 units of fiberglass bancas and 50 non-motorized bancas with fishing gears.

Agriculture Summit. We recently concluded the 1st Davao City Agriculture Summit to emphasize our commitment to small farmers. We provided insights to the benefit of becoming a member of a farmer’s association to access support from the government. At present, approximately only 35% of our small farmers are members and we want to double this number. We also committed to strengthen our farmer’s associations so they can properly comply government support requirements.

For the period July to December 2016, the following were accomplished by the City Veterinarian’s Office:

  • Dispersed various animals, to wit:
  • 6 castrated male weanlings (pigs) to the following barangays: Brgy. Bago Gallera, Brgy. Bucana, Brgy. Langub (2 for each barangay)
  • 6 female weanlings to Brgy. Matina Pangi
  • 3 bucks (male goat) to Brgy. Langub
  • 1 buck to Brgy. Gumalang

 

  • Vaccinated a total of 19,829 dogs/cats against Rabies with 14,167 clients served
  • Impounded 2,421 dogs
  • Vaccinated a total of 91,012 animals against:
  • Hog Cholera with 4,844 serving 470 clients
  • Hemorrhagic Septicemia with 2,872 cattle, carabao and goats serving 1,153 clients
  • New Castle Disease and Fowl Pox with 83,296 head of poultry serving 590 clients
  • Seized a total of 439 kilograms of fish in violation to RA 8550 or the Fisheries Code of the Philippines which were donated to Bahay Pasilungan

The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Region XI through the initiative of the City Veterinarian’s Office was able to distribute 76 Fish Cladding units to 76 fish vendors of Agdao Public Market last December 10, 2016.

TOURISM

Promotions. We want to acknowledge the exemplary achievement of our former mayor and now President Digong because the tourism office no longer needs to provide a huge budget on promotions for the Davao City anymore. There is an increasing number of local tourist arrivals in the city because Davao is now highlighted as a city to visit in Mindanao. However, we are still being challenged by the perception of foreign tourists on Mindanao and this involves security and personal safety.

We have prioritized our foreign promotions in Japan because the Japanese have a soft spot for Davao and of the fact that there are a lot of Japanese people who lived here during and after the war. Our Davao City Investment Promotion Center and the Tourism Office will have a joint business and tourism mission in Japan on October 16 to October 21. Another priority are the Singapore and Kuala Lumpur markets because we already have direct flights to these places. For the KL and Singapore tourists, we are diligently working on the halal food industry in our city and have faced the challenge in getting the national standard guidelines for halal operations to be implemented by the City Government.  As a start, we are open to investors to put up a halal slaughterhouse within government property. We also recognize the great potential of the Korea and China tourists and have marked this market as second priority. I am happy to announce that there will be a Davao Garden in the World Garden Expo in Nanning, China on December 2018.

Master Plan. Our tourism effort is still focused on the meetings, incentive, convention and exhibits industry. We also recently received the investors of a 500-room hotel with a convention center to be built in the south side of the city to balance the option of the existing convention area in Lanang. And we received word that TIEZA has already approved budget for a Davao City Tourism Master Plan.

Events. The recent celebration of Kadayawan festival is a testament to what the private sector can offer in terms of management and execution of the festival. We would like to entrust the festival to the private sector next year because, as I have said during my first term and will say it again, the running of a festival is not the business of a local government unit. We have two take aways from the recent celebration and these two were the real blockbuster events — these are, the cultural village by Generose Tecson and the Kaondayawan. We shall continue the opening of the cultural village or Kadayawan Village to the public and the Kaondayawan shall have a once a month pop-up event in the city. The Kaondayawan shall present that which is not found at the Roxas Night Market.

We also chose three big events happening in the next three years in Davao to complement our Kadayawan Festival. These are Ironman in March 2018, the Davao Region Athletics Association Meet also next year, and the Palarong Pambansa. The Palaro, however, requires big investment for infrastructure and we are working on the commitment of the national government on this.

INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT

 

  • July-December 2016 Accomplishments
  • Completed 325 infrastructure projects from various sources of funds amounting to a total of ₱339,186,417.68 with the following breakdown:
  • 86 building & other structure projects amounting to ₱150,801,067.92
  • 86 drainage projects totaling to ₱32,173,446.21
  • 137 road/bridge projects amounting to ₱148,361,819.30
  • 14 water system projects in the total amount of ₱7,531,709.59
  • 2 electrification projects amounting to ₱318,374.66

 

  • January-June 2017 Accomplishments
  • Implemented and completed 217 infrastructure projects from various sources of funds amounting to a total of P327,130,969.50 with the following breakdown:
  • 54 building & other structure projects amounting to P163,247,557.14
  • 45 drainage projects totaling to P18,377,809.90
  • 104 road/bridge projects amounting to P137,063,531.20
  • 11 water system projects in the total amount of P6,118,442.08
  • 3 electrification projects amounting to P2,323,629.18

Parks and Green Open Spaces. We want more options for families to take their children for rest and relaxation in addition to the People’s Park and Rizal Park. We have identified three areas to develop — in Marfori area for a botanical garden, the Sta Ana Wharf for an open space for rest and exercise activities and underneath the Agdao flyover for a minipark and a skate park.

We have received support from Congresswoman Mylene Garcia for the construction of the CSSDO building behind the City Hall annex. Likewise, we have assistance from the Office of the President to move the Museo Dabawenyo to an unused area at the People’s Park. We shall also build the City Engineer’s Office in the area to be vacated by Museo without destroying the old facade because of its historic value for Davao City — being the old Court of First Instance building in the 1960s. This movement will create an open space behind Rizal Park for a mini park with trees and provision for a small food hawker area.

There is a plan to build a parking building for government vehicles on a portion of the C.M Recto property awarded by the court to the City Government. A plan but no funds have been allocated for this as of the moment.

Agdao Farmer’s Market. The Department of Agriculture has extended assistance for our planned Agdao Farmer’s Market. This is a modernization and rehabilitation project for the public market that will help Davao farmers sell their fresh products directly to the public. We really are uphill in keeping our economic enterprises make more money while making it responsive to the needs of the people and we shall hire a business consultant to help us remedy this problem.

City Library Building. We have a trust fund from the Philippine Amusements and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) that we shall use to invest in a modern library in Ponciano Street. This shall be a building that will make learning experience relevant, timely, and exciting with traditional books and other reading materials and electronic data and materials for public use.

Investment Promotion Center and Tourism Building. This building shall be built near the Pasalubong Center to move them out of Magsaysay Park in preparation for the rehabilitation of the park, the location downtown will make them more accessible to tourists and businessmen.

Davao Food Terminal. The project is initiated by the Department of Agriculture and City Government to build a wholesale vegetable processing facility. The food terminal bridges the producers’ need for maximum benefits and consumers’ need of quality-based and affordable agricultural products. It will help facilitate fast and efficient movement of goods, particularly fresh farm products, in and out of the city and the whole region. And it is designed to enable the basic producers to skip the necessity of going through marketing layers. Construction of the facility is on-going and is 74% completed.

Roads. The Fatima-Dalagdag-Callawa farm to market road with bridge component is one of the major bypass roads proposed to the DPWH. The road is funded under the 2017 budget and is currently being implemented. It will link the Paquibato agricultural center with Buhangin. The Cabantian-Bunawan road is undergoing rehabilitation in some portions and widening in some portions to improve the movement of goods and people from the north towards Buhangin.

Task Force. We released Executive Order 02, Series of 2017 on the task force drainage and road right of way in order for us to bring together to one table the local government, national government agencies, and other groups involved in the use of public works and highways to avoid the digging and re-digging of our roads because of poor coordination and planning — which is often blamed on the lack of information shared between offices. This shall also complement the underground cabling ordinance of 2017.

Toril Flyover. We have proposed several areas for flyovers and this section is the one that was found to be feasible by the engineers of DPWH. The project is now on the design stage.

Sasa Wharf Modernization and Rehabilitation. Plans are underway for the modernization and rehabilitation of Sasa Wharf.

Bypass Road and Coastal Road. Both multi-billion projects of the DPWH to ease the congestion in the downtown areas of the city.

National Government. The Davao-Samal Bridge by the DPWH and JICA, and the Mindanao Railway Tagum-Davao-Digos phase by the DOTr.

Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA). The agency is helping us with the Comprehensive Flood Control Study and the Infrastructure Planning and Capacity Building Project. These studies will provide us with the much-needed list of infrastructure projects needed to be funded to benefit the city.

PEACE AND ORDER

Crime Statistics. We have recorded a significant decrease of 2,019 cases in the total crime volume of 5,634 from January to August 2017 compared to 7,653 of the same period in 2016. This can be attributed to the synergy between the Davao City Police Office and other Philippine National Police and Armed Forces of the Philippines groups in the city. Credit also goes to the full implementation of Oplan Iron City, a teamwork between the police and police auxiliaries deployed in strategic places to provide security cover thru static post, foot, bike, mobile, combat patrol accompanied by relentless anti-criminality operations of Oplan Bulabog (anti-crime), Oplan Lambat Bitag (road clearing operations), Oplan Double Barrel among others.

Anti-Terrorism. Thank you to the men and women of Task Force Davao, no bombing incident was recorded from the period of September 3, 2016 to September 3, 2017.

Peace Committee. Because it is the obligation of your duly elected public officials to pursue just and lasting peace for the city, we have created the Davao City – Local Peace Committee (DC – PEACE) with the objective and the function to manage the localized peace talks with the New People’s Army operating within the area of responsibility of Davao City. The DC-PEACE members are Maria Luisa Bermudo of the CSSDO, Atty. Elisa Lapina of the City Legal Office, Punong Barangay Jessielito Areja of Barangay Malabog, Paquibato District, and Archbishop Romulo Valles of the Catholic Church. We have also tapped consultants to assist us. We are still vetting for a Chairperson from the private sector and we welcome your suggestions. The life of the committee will only be until November 2018. If there are no significant developments and movement in the localized process, we will pursue other options to attain peace. I am asking our NPA friends to work with us in the local government. After all, we all want to see a better Davao and we surely can attain this if you work beside us.

Ancillary Services Unit. This unit was created by an Executive Order to manage the sidewalk clearing operations, manual drainage clean-up and the Roxas Night Market operations.

Vices Regulation Unit. This unit was created to implement the Anti-Smoking Ordinance, the Liquor Ban law and the law prohibiting the selling of alcohol and cigarettes to minors.

Drug Rehabilitation. We launched the Tabangan Atong Reformist Aron Naay Asenso or TARA NA last November 18, 2016, a Davao City Community Based Rehabilitation Aftercare Program (CBRAP) to start revitalizing the lives of the surrenderers. Drug screening/profiling was conducted in 33 barangays of District 3 from April to June 2017. As a result, 917 reformists were recorded and enrolled to TARA NA-CBRAP.

TRANSPORTATION PLANNING AND TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT

Transpo Plan. We have issued EO 27 Series of 2017 creating the Transportation and Traffic Planning Committee mandated to work on the Comprehensive Transportation and Traffic Management Plan for the city.

Bus System. The same committee is working with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) who is assisting us on the High Priority Bus System (HPBS) project. ADB is helping us shift from the outdated and expensive public utility jeepneys to a more convenient, cleaner, and faster mode of transportation. We do not want our jeepney drivers to be poor and sickly, we want drivers to become entrepreneurs and invest in the HPBS project. In this way, they become our partners to a modernized transport system for the city.

Davao Taxi App. We encourage taxi operators association to invest in a single DavaoTaxi app and an official taxi complaint site to keep our taxi industry relevant and efficient. We do not want more alternative modes of transport in the streets because this would mean more vehicles on the streets and create further congestion.

Traffic Office. We started the process to create the City Traffic and Transport Management Office. At present, it is a unit under the City Mayor’s Office. The following are the Short Term Plans of CTTMO, some of which are on-going implementation or are included in the priority programs and projects:

  • Road widening to help decongest traffic
  • Construction of standard loading bays
  • Acquisition of mobile speed camera or speed gun for the violation of speed limits
  • Additional uniforms and traffic gears such as reflectorized vests, rain coats, and alike
  • Purchase additional motorcycles
  • Rehabilitation of road markings
  • Realization of New Comprehensive Traffic Ordinance / Code
  • Providing periodic traffic data available to the public such as Traffic / Vehicular Accidents, Traffic Vehicular Count, and alike

The following are the Long Term Plans of CTTMO, which tie up with different priority areas of the current administration:

  • To construct more flyovers that shall decongest traffic at intersections
  • Opening of more access roads
  • Express lane from the boundary of North to South and vice versa
  • Additional terminal for provincial buses
  • Upgrading its new technology on the Traffic Signalization as means to decongest traffic problems
  • Re-assessment of PUJ re-routing scheme in coordination with the LTFRB
  • Construction of Pedestrian Overpass for the safety of the pedestrians
  • To provide Bicycle Lane / Zone
  • Plans to modernize Davao’s Mass Transport System – Bus

Citation Ticket. The CTTMO recently started to issue citation tickets for traffic rules violators for both road users and pedestrians to enforce discipline on the road and improve flow and reduce accidents.

Drivers’ Education. Under Section 163, par. b, of the Comprehensive Transport & Traffic Code of Davao City, prior to the issuance of new or renewal of driver’s license from LTO, a PUV identification card shall be secured from the CTTMO by a PUV driver through mandatory attendance to seminar on safety driving, road safety, road courtesy, discipline, traffic rules & regulations, and city traffic code. The said seminar was incorporated in our regular PUV Education Program which started in March 2017 to accommodate an estimated 18,000 PUV drivers, the series of seminar shall end in November 2017. We target 2,000 drivers every month for training and give free IDs and snacks.

SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT

Sanitary Landfill. As our city is growing rapidly, the volume of the garbage being generated daily has also been increasing. Our existing landfill has only a life span of two years. We will be able to extend this to three more years with the solution proposed by Engineer Joey Felizarta —one that entails the use of terraces or benches which will be executed in phases.

Solid Waste Processing Complex. We are working for approval by the Government of Japan for a fully-mechanized Materials Recovery Facility and a small Waste To Energy facility. We shall build these two projects with a smaller landfill inside a solid waste processing complex. At this point, we are still looking for the site for this.

Bantay Bukid. We have partnered with the Interface Development Interventions, Inc. (IDIS) and the Philippine Eagle Foundation to provide incentive and uniforms to around 200 volunteers of Bantay Bukid, a community-based organization that are deputized as forest guards. They will help us protect our watersheds against destructive activities in our forests, including the extraction of resources like animals and plants.

Bantay Dagat. We are also set to launch the Bantay Dagat group as a complementary project to our Bantay Bukid. They will be in charge of the sea and coastal areas. We have allocated funds to buy an off-site garbage collector for trash that has found its way into the sea.

BioDiesel Plant. The dumping of used cooking oil in our drainage and other bodies of water has contributed to pollution and is an urgent matter that we need to focus on. And very recently, we inaugurated the Biodiesel plant in Brgy. Maa with the help of JICA and the generosity of the Japanese government. This facility can convert used oil into diesel to use in vehicles.

DISASTER RISK REDUCTION AND MITIGATION

Food Assistance in Emergencies. The City Social Services and Development Office (CSSDO) recently acquired the mobile kitchen, Kusina ng Bayan, to cater to families affected by disasters and emergencies. This project is intended to provide quick hot meals for the victims who are tired and hungry and in need of immediate relief with cooked food.

Disaster Funds Investment Plan. This is under discussion with the City Council committee on appropriations. This will be available before the year end.

CITY COUNCIL

There are important legislations that we would like to push for the honorable members of the City Council.

LED Streetlight. The ordinance that would support our shift from high-pressure sodium light to the new LED lighting technology. We would like to shift to an energy efficient technology while increasing more light per watt. We have asked Davao Light to initially install LED lights in these areas: the highway island outside of the Davao international airport, San Pedro, Bolton, and Magallanes streets.

Bulk Water Supply. The ordinance allowing the Davao City Water District and Apo Agua to tap the Tamugan River for their surface water project. This is the alternative water source to allow time for our aquifers to recharge. There is an urgent need to support this project because of the increasing demand for a steady and sufficient supply of potable water in the city.

No Parking Law. There is a need to ban street parking in certain areas of the city to utilize a third line for traffic flow and as a complementary move, we have pushed for the granting of incentives to those who may build parking buildings and those who shall convert their idle lands to approved parking spaces or green spaces.

ENERGY

Our continued growth is currently enjoying the needed power supply support from various power industry players, and the Mindanao region, per reports, will have enough power supply until 2020. Hereon, brownouts are attributable to technical issues not supply challenges, However, citing Department of Energy and other industry demand forecasts, Mindanao Development Authority projects that we will be needing additional supply from 2021-2030 in order to sustain industrial and economic growth. With this, I call on power industry players to consider putting up environmentally-friendly energy plants to prepare the region of the coming need while we still have time.

WE HAVE MULTIPLE CHALLENGES in working for the city government, which I intentionally omitted because I want you to take home positive notes and optimism.

And finally, pagbaBAGo.

We are set to launch in the final months of 2017 a campaign for children to study harder for their future and a campaign for women to practice planned responsible parenthood.

A distribution of bags with specific educational materials to inspire our children and women to aim for a better future for their families.

Education and planned responsible parenthood are our keys to overcome poverty.Daghang salamat ug maayong udto kaninyong tanan!

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