ULAT SA BAYAN
Good morning ladies and gentlemen!
Once again, I am making a report of the accomplishments of the
City Government for the past 10 months of the year.
Despite the flooding that disrupted the economic condition of a
large portion of our population last June, I am proud to say that we now have
recovered.
A clear manifestation of this is the 10.98 percent increase in
our aggregate income as compared to the same period last year.
From January to October 2010, the city only had an income of
P88,048,244.42.
For the same period this year, we posted an income of
P97,717.746.34 or an increase of P9,669,501.92.
From local taxes alone, we posted an increase of 12.87%.
Meanwhile, the Permits and License Division of the Office of the
City Mayor posted a total collection for the period of P60,132,044.54.
A total of 4,831 Business Licenses were issued. This is aside
from the 912 Business Licenses issued to vendors at the Mega Market and 145 at
the City Arcade.
Moreover, this figure is way beyond the 2010 performance wherein
only 4,455 Business Licenses were issued for the whole year.
For the period, our two public markets - Mega and Arcade -
posted an increase in its revenue collection amounting to P653,403.00
representing stall fees and Business License as compared to last year.
Another good thing is that the City Central Arcade has already
completely paid its Loan Amortization with the Land Bank of the Philippines
last February 2011 thus all its income and revenues directly goes to the
coffers of the city government.
To put law and order in our markets, illegal structures and
unauthorized extension stalls were demolished. Massive clean-up day for at
least twice a month aside from the regular cleaning activities were conducted.
Saturation drive against illegal vendors within the vicinity of
Mega Market and City Arcade is done daily.
To protect the welfare of the consumers, we installed a “Timbangan
ng Bayan” and confiscated defective weighing scales.
There were also instances when “hot meats” were seized by
personnel of the City Veterinary Office.
And for the first time in the history of Cotabato City, we
included our market vendors in our health program. They were given free AH1N1
and anti-tetanus vaccination by the Office on Health Services.
Aside from that, we conducted a “Symposium on the Economics in
Islam” featuring right pricing, proper weighing scale, usury and other related
topics. This was undertaken with the support of the Darul Ifta and Ulamas in
Cotabato City, led by Ustadz Jaafar Ali and Ustadz Abdulsalam Alabat.
As part of the regulatory function of the City Government, a
Task Force was created purposely to ensure that all business establishments and
activities in the city have the necessary Business License.
In the course of their inspection, the Task Force found out that
some 133 business establishments were operating without license. They were
issued notices and given 30 days to comply with the requirements of law, otherwise
their establishments will be closed.
Immediately, 53 complied before the expiry of the deadline, 57
complied after their establishments were padlocked, 11 opted to cease from
further operating, and 12 entered into a compromise agreement with the City
Treasury Office as to the schedule of payment of their taxes and penalties.
Our campaign against the continued operation of unlicensed
business establishments still continues. We believe that there are still a lot
of them. Thus, we would like to call their attention to immediately comply
because we will not hesitate to enforce the full force of the law.
Parallel to this, our Office for Legal Services vigorously and
diligently defended the City’s interest against telecommunication companies who
are consistently claiming for tax exemption.
These efforts yielded positive results as manifested by the
collection of real property taxes from the Pilipino Telephone Company, the
predecessor of Smart Communications, amounting to P5,679,426.61.
Talks are still underway concerning the real property tax
delinquencies of the other telecommunication companies.
Complementary to our revenue generation efforts, the Office of
the City Assessor for the first nine months only of 2011 has already posted a
percentage accomplishment of 136.33 percent on the planned targets versus their
actual accomplishments.
For the period, the Office of the City Assessor assessed more or
less 12 million pesos worth of new real properties, with a corresponding real
property taxes for basic worth P141,697.46 and P125,953,30 representing the
Special Education Fund.
The increased revenues helped us implement various development
projects for our people.
Presently, the City Engineering Office is busy with the
completion of 31 various infrastructure projects.
These includes: construction of flood control and drainage
systems, repair of Camasi Bridge, renovation of eight Day Care Centers, repair
of General Luna Street, development of the Tantawan Park, rehabilitation of the
burnt portion of the City Arcade and the perimeter fencing of the Mega Market.
On November 23, work will start for the renovation of our city
Plaza.
By the way, we would like to thank in advance the Growth with
Equity in Mindanao or GEM Program of the United States Agency for International
Development for their funding of the construction of the Boat-landing Building
at the Bagsakan Riverside of Barangay Poblacion Mother. Work on the project
will commence next week and is expected to be completed by the middle of
February 2012.
Meanwhile, the Department of Labor and Employment has given us
support funds for the declogging of flood control drainage system in the 26
barangays affected by the flooding. The DOLE gave us P660,000.00, representing
60 percent of the total project cost, while the other 40 percent was shouldered
by the City Government out of our Calamity Funds.
Moreover, to mitigate the problem of flooding in the city,
particularly in the low-lying barangays, the City Government entered into a
P76-million loan agreement with the Land Bank of the Philippines for the
purchase of one brand new Amphibious Excavator, one brand new Vibratory
Compactor and two units of brand new Garbage Compactor Trucks.
Likewise, we also purchased one pontoon barge for the use in our
flood mitigation.
Aside from these equipments, we also purchased earthfill
materials and distributed them to low-lying barangays for the rehabilitation of
their barangay roads which were damaged by the June flooding.
Moreover, we appropriated P4.6 million for the improvement of
the perimeter dike system at the Biniruan dumpsite.
The amount of P1,725,000.00 was also appropriated for the
purchase of solar-powered street lights.
In other developments, the Office on Social Welfare and
Development Services was very busy during the period. Aside from attending to
the needs of the thousands of our residents affected by the June flooding, the
OSWDS was never remiss in the performance of its mandate.
At the forefront of its mandate is the Day Care Services
program.
With a manpower compliment of 60 Day Care Workers, the City
Government’s Day Care Service Program has decreased capacity to serve
pre-school children by a slight 1.3% to 2,528 from 2,652 in 2010 because of
institutional restructuring in preparation to the implementation of DepEd’s K12
Education System. Children whose ages
are 5 to 6 years old will be taught by DepEd’s accredited mentors and no longer
be considered under Day Care Service Program.
The City Government’s special program for disadvantaged and
street urban working children served 379 street children—a 59% decrease over
2010’s figure of 933 children but an almost 22% over its target of 484 this
year.
In anticipation to additional acceptors of rehabilitation
program of the City Government, we have allocated the amount of P360,000.00 for
the rehabilitation of ten 10 street-based children who were once tagged as
rugby users at the Marcellin Foundation in Gen. Santos City. The city government provided P 3,000.00 per
month per child for their subsidy in the center.
Similarly, we provided financial assistance to 24 children who
are in crisis situation (abused, abandoned, child labor, children in conflict
with the law). To date we have three abandoned children placed in a temporary
custody as their papers for declaration of abandonment were being processed.
Also, P50,000.00 was allocated for the continuous feeding to 70
street-based children who could not find comfort staying at home with their
families.
To provide productive activities for the sector every year, the
office conducted children’s festival both at barangay and city level. This annual program is undertaken every
children’s month celebration with a budgetary support of P 93,000.00.
In support to children with school needs, the City allocates
yearly budget of P 1,500.00 per client as financial assistance to indigent
school children who are not beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino
Program or 4P’s to buy school supplies, shoes and uniforms. A total of 66 children benefited this year’s
P100,000.00 budget.
They were community-based street children who were found to be
in–school children have availed of school supplies for their educational
needs.
Funded annually in the amount of P 666,000.00 in the form of
volunteers’ honorarium, the program on street children was sustained by the
presence of 37 Street Education Volunteers whose skills were enhanced through
the Family Tracing and Reunification Project of the UNICEF.
This project aims to reunite our street-based children to their
families by providing support services and other psychosocial interventions.
Moreover, this facilitates the involvement of others partners who are committed
to provide welfare for our disadvantaged children.
Since the start of the project, a total of 284 street and urban
working children have been registered. Out of this figure, 120 children are now
being prioritized and served according to the urgency of their needs, of which
22 street-based children were now either reunited to their families or
turned-over to their parents who reside in nearby towns. Thirty-eight children are now enrolled in
different schools in the city.
However, street children phenomenon cannot be eradicated
overnight considering that our City is rapidly urbanizing. Furthermore, Cotabato City, as we all know,
is surrounded by conflict-affected areas as we expect an influx of more
families to the City to seek safe and profitable refuge, thus, compelling the
City Government to exert its best effort to provide timely program and services
to lessen the burden of the problem.
Another mandate of the OSWDS concerns women’s welfare. This
year, the OSWDS provided counseling services such as maternal and child-care,
self-enhancement and awareness on community participation to 140
community-based women.
Likewise, the Productivity Skills Capability Building for
Disadvantaged Women provided skills training on sewing to 85 women this
year. These skills made them capable in
engaging in productive livelihood activities and eventually contributing to
increased family income.
Moreover, 20 differently-abled persons or persons with
disabilities availed of the physical restoration program of the City
Government. They were recipients of
assistive devices in the form of wheelchair, prosthetics, eyeglasses and
artificial legs.
The City Government also extended educational assistance to 70
disabled persons amounting to P 140,000.00.
On the matter of the OSWDS program for the elderly, 470 members
of the senior citizens sector were provided assistance ranging from capital and
burial assistance, social and self- enhancement, counseling sessions and
referral services.
During the height of the flooding last June, the City
Government, thru the OSWDS, served 88,770 individuals who were provided relief
assistance from the calamity fund of the city government. Likewise,
non-governmental organizations, private individuals, people’s organizations and
other government agencies have also extended support from relief to cash
assistance.
A total of 60 families who were fire victims were also provided
with immediate relief and emergency cash assistance taken from the calamity
fund. There were 13 individuals who were victims of bomb explosion where in the
city have shouldered their hospitalization and other medical expenses.
Cotabato City is a recipient of the Pamilyang Pilipino Pantawid
Program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development.
Some 1,461 families from Barangays Kalanganan Mother and
Poblacion Mother were initially identified as beneficiaries of the 5- year
program.
Overall, Cotabato City has a total of 9,972 beneficiaries from
the 37 barangays.
On the aspect of health development, the Office on Health
Services has immunized against measles some 34,438 children aged 9 to 95 months
old or about 85 percent of the target.
To address the problem of malnutrition, the OHS in partnership
with the two international introduced the Community-Based Management of Acute
Malnutrition Program in the barangays last June 2011.
The project has identified 2,175 infant patients. 25 of them
were classified as severely acute malnourished while 77 were classified as moderately
acute malnourished.
Meanwhile, the Office on Health Services received funding and
technical assistance from the Department of Health. The amount of P1.5-million
was given as additional fund for the City-wide Investment Plan for Health and
P1-million fund support for the OHS Maternal and Neonatal Care and Nutrition.
This is aside from the various trainings on health programs given to OHS
personnel.
With regards to our solid waste management program, we could say
that our efforts are paying off.
You may have noticed that, unlike in other places wherein the
number of dengue cases is on the rise, here in Cotabato City the number is
going down.
We may be one of the cities, if not the only one, in the country
where the number of dengue cases is dropping.
This is because of our intensified solid waste management
program.
This down trend began when our people started to be responsible
about their garbage and heeded our campaign to segregate and recycle.
Because waste segregation and recycling means reducing the
volume of garbage, thereby reducing also the cost of hauling and transporting
the collected garbage to our dumpsite.
These are just a few of the benefits of our solid waste
management program.
That is why I would like to reiterate my call for everybody to
do their share in reducing and segregating our garbage.
We can achieve a lot if only we cooperate and do our share for
the benefit of everybody.
On the aspect of peace and order and security, the City
Government appropriated P2-million for the closed circuit television or CCTV
surveillance system. This security system is now functional.
Aside from this, radio communication equipments were procured
for the use of the police and the barangays.
Likewise, the City Government continues to extend support, in
various forms, to our City Police, including the Philippine Marines and other
law enforcement agencies in the city, so as to ensure the safety of the
residents of Cotabato City.
To further improve the crime-fighting capability of our police,
the City Government, in cooperation with the Integrated Bar of the Philippines,
conducted a seminar-workshop on strengthening the Role of the Cotabato City PNP
and other law enforcers in the prosecution of cases. Aside from the police,
elements from the Philippine Marines and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency
were also among the participants.
To help alleviate the economic status of our constituents, the
Tourism, Trade and Industry Division of the Office of the City Mayor conducted
series of livelihood training on bangus deboning and smoked fish production,
crab and bangus relleno preparation and shrimp kropeck production.
On the other hand, we also handed out 315 bags of certified
palay seeds to our rice farmers. Likewise, 25 sets of gill nets and 15 sets of
multiple handline fishing gears were also given to fisherfolks at the coastal
fishing barangays of the city.
Meanwhile, I am glad to announce that no less than the national
executive director of the National Meat Inspection Service would be coming
today. The purpose of their coming is relative to our plan to establish the
country’s first Halal-certified slaughterhouse.
The National Meat Inspection Service has committed P10-million
pesos for the project.
Along this line, I have issued instructions to our City
Veterinarian, Dr. Robert Malcontento, and our City Planning Officer, Roseller
Papa, to fast-track the finalization of the project design and program of work.
This early, I would like to thank all those who have pledged
their support and assistance towards the realization of this project. Foremost
is the Mantana Foundation, led by Dr. Danda Juanday, and Dr. Norodin Kuit of
the Muslim Mindanao Halal Certification Board.
Aside from the delivery of basic services to our constituents,
the City Government also takes care of its personnel.
That is why we have the Friday afternoon “Got Talent” showdown
among our personnel and barangay officials.
To quote the Proverb “All work and no play makes Jack a dull
boy,” it means that “If you only work, and do not take the time out to have
fun, then you will become a very boring person. Or in the worst case, it will
make you go mad.
Moreover, we also gave additional incentives to our employees.
First was the Economic Relief Assistance of P10,000 for plantilla personnel and
P5,000 for contractual employees. The first half of which was given last June
2011 and the second half was released last August.
Over and above these, our personnel will also be receiving an additional
year-end incentive of P5,000 which will be released next month.
Likewise, members of the City Police, Bureau of Fire, Bureau of
Jail Management and Penology, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Administration
and even our more than 1,000 public school teachers will also be receiving an
additional year-end incentive from the City Government of one thousand pesos
each.
If our financial standing continue to get better next year, more
benefits will be coming for all of us.
In closing, I call on each and every Cotabateño to do their
share in making our city peaceful and progressive.
Pagtulungan nating panatilihing maayos, malinis at matahamik ang
ating lungsod tungo sa kaunlaran ng lahat.
Walang ibang dapat na mas higit na magmamalasakit at magmamahal
sa ating lungsod kundi tayong mga Cotabateño, maging anuman ang ating
pananampalataya, tribu o political affiliation.
Alam ko na walang ni isa sa inyo ang nagnanais ng hindi maganda
para sa ating lungsod.
Let us join hands in the attainment of our vision of hope,
happiness, peace and prosperity for Cotabato City.
Maraming
salamat at magandang umaga sa lahat!
