(Speech of Senator Koko Pimentel during the 68thAnniversary of the Foundation Day of Cagayan de Oro City on June 15, 2018)
HALANDONG Mayor Oscar “Oca” Moreno, Kongresista Klarex Uy, Kongresista Maxie Rodriguez, Bise Mayor Joaquin “Kikang” Uy, mga Konsehal sa Dakbayan, mga opisyales sa barangay, mga trabahante sa gobyerno sa dakbayan, mga kauban kong empleyado sa gobyerno, susamang taga-Mindanao, mga bisita ug mga higala, susamang mga Pilipinhon, makiangayon ug malipayong buntag kaninyong tanan.
Malipayon kita karong adlawa tungod kay gasaulog kita sa pagkahimugso sa dakbayan sa Cagayan de Oro. Susama kini sa pagsaulog sa usa ka birthday!
Happy 68thbirthday, Cagayan de Oro City!
Sa dihang bata pa ako, di ko gusto og birthday parties. Pero karon ga kapin na ako sa 50 (singkuwenta), nasabtan ko na kung nganong gapahigayon og birthday parties.
To commemorate a birthday is to celebrate the gift of life. We are thankful for a life that has been blessed by God Almighty, a life that has meaning and purpose, and a life that has touched and helped other lives
Tungod kay daku na ang kausaban sa Cagayan de Oro ug daghan na ang kalampusan niini, angay lamang nga saulogon nato ang adlaw sa pagkahimugso sa atong pinalanggang dakbayan.
We have a lot to be thankful for.
Cagayan de Oro has achieved so much:
- We have produced Bar and Board Topnotchers;
· We have produced a Vice President and two Senate Presidents;
· This is where the current ruling party, the PDP Laban, was born;
· We invented the motorela;
· We are known for our ham, binaki, and cashew nuts;
· We are a “first class highly urbanized urbanized city in Mindanao”;
· The Court of Appeals in Mindanao is located here;
· We are the regional center of the Philippine Air Force, Philippine Army, and the Philippine National Police;I should not forget that we have produced beauty queens too, the most famous of whom is Pia Wurtzbach who became Miss Universe 2015.
We are the regional business hub. The education center. The medical center. We have a good deep water port. An airport of international class is nearby. All banks and malls are present here in Cagayan de Oro.
Tourism is growing as our tourist spots become better known to the rest of the country and to the world at large. We are known as the “City of Golden Friendship”.
So, in short, Cagayan de Oro City is blessed and continues to be blessed.
The blessings of modern day living are already here in our beloved city. But we need to constantly and continuously work for an even better city.
Let us transform CDO into the “paradise here on earth” that we all want to live in.Atong hulmahon ang CDO ngadto sa usa ka “paraiso dinhi sa kalibutan” nga gusto natong puy-an.
Apan aron makab-ot kini, kinahanglan nga kita magsakripisyo ug hiniusang molihok. Kinahanglan nga molihok isip usa ka team nga adunay hiniusang panlantaw.
At the national level under the leadership of our visionary President, Rodrigo Roa Duterte, we are working very hard to change and transform our beloved Philippines into “a better Philippines”.
Sumala pa sa atong Presidente, gusto lang niya ang manginabuhi ang matag Pilipinhon nga hamugaway. Tungod niini, gimugna niya ang “Program for Change” nga, sa akong pagtuo, nadunggan na ninyo.
Daghan ang mga gisaad ug daghan niini nga mga saad natunol na. Daghan ang mga kausaban nga gakahitabo sa atong maanindot na nasud.
In less than two years in power, President Duterte has delivered on his campaign promises:
- All-out war against drugs, crime, and corruption. This will continue up to the very last day of the Duterte Administration.
2. Free education[RA 10931]
3. Free irrigation[RA 10969]
4. Lower personal income taxes[RA 10963]
5. Increase in base pay of the military and the police[Joint Resolution No. 1, Series of 2018]
6. Cutting red tape[RA 11032]
7. National ID
8. Longer passport effectivity[RA 10928. New passport validity is now ten years]
9. Longer driver’s license effectivity
The Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) is about to be finalized. The practice of “Endo” is about to end. Peace Talks with the CPP NPA are to resume soon.
We have pursued an independent foreign policy. And because of this, the Philippines is now considered the friend of many nations including the US, Europe, Japan, South Korea, ASEAN, China, Russia, and even in the Middle East.
The Duterte Administration has also fixed the problem of smuggling in the cigarette industry, the non-payment of billions in aviation fees, the ownership of the Mile-Long property, and the environmental crisis in the island of Boracay.
Federalism will be formally presented to the People soon. Through Federalism, we will empower local governments to be able to have the power and the resources to solve the problems of their constituents on their own.
Kung kamo nagatuo nga ang pangagamhanan nga duol sa katawhan mao ang pinakamaayo nga pamaagi ug kini makasulbad sa mga suliran, nan ikaw usa ka “Federalist”. Ali ug uban kanamo sa pagpalambo sa kawsa sa Pederalismo.
I also have to mention that we are soon to enter the “golden age of infrastructure” in our country because of the President’s massive “build, build, build program” which will provide for a subway system, railway systems, improved highways, new bridges, new and improved airports and seaports, among others.
In 2017, the total infrastructure budget for Region X was P17.22B. This year 2018, our region should get P17.36B in infrastructure funding. Both budgets were passed while I was the Senate President.
All eyes are therefore directed at the DPWH as they disburse record amounts of the People’s money. Let us make sure the DPWH implements these projects well and finishes them on time!
Let us continue to build and finish the “appropriate infrastructure” that our city needs especially if we want our city to be “a key destination of meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions (MICE) in Southern Philippines”. We still have limited rooms and convention facilities.
We are lucky that President Duterte wants Cagayan de Oro City to develop alongside his hometown of Davao City and for Region X to grow together with Region XI.
Under the Philippine Development Plan 2017-2022, the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) forecasts the rise of Cagayan de Oro as the fourth metropolitan center in the country by 2025, after Manila, Cebu, and Davao.
Kung kinsa ang gitagaan og dako, dako usab ang gipaabot. Samtang natagamtaman ta ang mga panalangin, kinahanglan nga dili nato malimtan ang mga kabus, mga maluya, ug ang nagpakahilom. Kinahanglan sila ang mas-mauna.
The programs of government must focus on helping the poorest and weakest sectors of our society. We should help our senior citizens, persons with disabilities, our children, our farmers and fishermen, and our OFWs, for they are the ones who most need our help.
Since we are all moving in the same direction, guided by common principles, I am confident that the city government of Cagayan de Oro under the leadership of Mayor Moreno and the national government under the leadership of President Duterte will both be able to achieve their common goal of improving the quality of life of their constituents.
Ang pinakamahinungdanon nga magpabilin kita nga magkahiusa ug magtinabangay.
The elections of 2019 are fast approaching. Hence it is important that we are reminded that we need to elect the proper leaders. I am a firm believer in the saying that “the people deserve the government they elect”. Elect a good leader, then you prosper. Elect a corrupt leader, then you suffer. Hence, in choosing our leaders, we need to “always use our KOKOte!”.
I and the Duterte Administration do not have a monopoly of all the good ideas for the development of our beloved country. If you have your own ideas, then please share these with me. I am always open to creative, even radical, ideas that we can use to solve the persistent inter-generational problems of our nation within our lifetimes.
Usa ako ka taga-Mindanao susama sa kadaghanan kaninyo. Natawo ako dinhi sa Dakbayan sa Cagayan de Oro, diha mismo sa Maria Reyna Hospital kaniadtong Enero 20, 1964.
Hangyoon ko kamo, pahimusli ang kamatuoran nga anaa kamo Kagay-anon nga Senador. Tulo ang gikan sa Mindanao apan usa lamang ang Kagay-anon.
Ingna ako kung unsa ang gikinahanglan sa atong lugar. Gibutang ako sa Labawng Makagagahum sa kasamtangan nga posisyon aron makatabang sa katawhan, sa katawhan sa Mindanao, hilabi na gayod sa mga Kagay-anon.
In the 2018 budget I have recommended the following projects: (1) Construction of drainage in Brgy. Kauswagan in the amount of P10M; (2) Construction of drainage in Brgy. Carmen in the amount of P10M; (3) Rehabilitation of Divisoria and the Amphitheatre in the amount of P80M; (4) Completion of our Convention Center in the amount of P100M.
Magpadayon ang atong Medical Assistance to Indigent Patients Program (MAIP) sa Northern Mindanao Medical Center (NMMC). Gawas niini, mopalit kita og pinakabag-o nga mga hospital equipment alang sa NMMC.
Sayod ako nga dili kini igo. Mao man gani nga abri ang akong communication lines aron masayran ko kung unsa ang gikinahanglan sa dakbayan.
Sublion ko, magkahiusa kita ubos sa usa ka panglantaw ug padayonon ta ang pagtinabanga!
So I urge all of you, my brothers and sisters inCagayan de Oro City, to join your kuya Senator Koko Pimentel in achieving our vision of a Philippine society which is just and fair, which saves and shares, which is scientific and objective, safe and peaceful, educated and healthy, democratic, and which is, most of all, happy and free, with overflowing love of God and country!
Daghang salamat kaninyong tanan!Mabuhi ang dakbayan sa Cagayan de Oro!
