Mayor lists 13 priority thrusts before term ends

DAVAO City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio listed 13 key directions that will be included in her development thrust referred as Barangays, Academics, Resources, Peace and Order and Good Governance (Barog) for next year.

Based on the most recent budget message submitted by the mayor to the City Council, empowering all barangays by bringing the progress and development down to the grass-root level tops Mayor Sara’s list for legislative authority.

“Davao City is in constant pursuit for the improvement of the quality of life of its constituents and its environment by implementing the current administration’s development framework,” Duterte-Carpio said.

The sector that came next to barangays is the education sector.

“Formal and informal modes of education will be supported and expanded to increase the literacy of all sectors in all ages. Special emphasis will be given to early childhood education and alternative learning systems for the disadvantaged groups especially women, out-of-school youth and indigenous people,” the mayor added.

Duterte-Carpio said Davao City’s literacy program will focus on increasing its citizen’s awareness on responsible citizenship, specifically on issues and matters involving -- environment, disaster preparedness, and traffic education.

Duterte-Carpio already gave way to her father, Vice Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, who will be running for the mayoralty position in 2013. She is not running for any position.

In an earlier interview, she said her administration will maximize its time to accomplish all priority programs that she listed on her priority list.

The mayor’s term will end on June 30 next year.

Included in the list is the improvement of the city’s health programs and facilities in the barangay, district, and city level.

“(This is) to ensure that every Dabawenyo has the opportunity to lead a healthy and productive life,” she said.

The remaining 10 key directions that Duterte-Carpio listed as priority programs are:

* Integration of disaster risk reduction strategies and management in all local plans;

* Aggressive promotion of the city as the preferred choice for investment in tourism;

* Support for micro, small and medium enterprises to generate employment for locals;

* Construction of road infrastructures to connect barangays to the market to improve accessibility of communities as well as markets for their local produce;

* Enhancement and redevelopment of the local biodiversity, especially in the city’s critical watersheds and coastal resources, to ensure environmental stability in our city;

* Peace and security to protect local communities and individuals from criminal elements, man-made disasters, and natural calamities;

* Rational allocation of resources based on the priorities of the local government to maximize the impact of public investments on goods, services and infrastructures;

* Responsive and efficient government services as a primary goal of the local government unit;

* Increase local revenues through effective collection of local taxes and strict implementation of local laws;

* Promotion of transparency within departments and offices to ensure proper utilization of government funds and properties through continued enhancement of the knowledge, attitude, values and skills of government employees to ensure professionalism in delivering public service. JOP