AMBASSADOR Sung Kim of the United States of America (USA) on Thursday, March 16, pledged to continuously support Zamboanga City through various projects implemented by the United States Agency for International Development (Usaid).
The US envoy said this as he called on City Mayor Maria Isabelle Climaco-Salazar in City Hall on the sidelight of his visit to the US troops quartered at Camp Basilio Navarro.
Camp Basilio Navarro houses the headquarters of the Western Mindanao Command in Zamboanga City.
Kim expressed delight that the strong collaboration between Zamboanga and the US government has resulted to very productive efforts that obliged his government to continue support to the city.
Zamboanga City is a beneficiary of the Cities Development Initiative program of the Usaid aimed to advance the city’s inclusive, environmentally sustainable resilient growth.
The projects are implemented by Usaid-Strengthening Urban Resilience for Growth with Equity, Usaid Be Secure, Usaid-Partnership for Biodiversity Conservation Project and E-Peso starting in the year 2013.
Salazar has sought the help of Kim in extending the period of grant to the Philippine National Police (PNP) for the construction of a Maritime headquarters in the village of Bolong, this city, which is currently facing setbacks.
Salazar said the PNP is a recipient of a $1 million grant from the US government for the establishment of a Maritime headquarters in the village of Bolong.
However, the project cannot take off yet, as the donation of the lot cannot be perfected due to some legal impediments.
What makes the matter worse, Salazar said, is that the period of the grant is set to expire sometime this year and the legal problems have yet to be resolved.
She said it is very important that the project is completed as it will be beneficial to the village of Bolong and to the nearby villages in particular and the entire city in general.
The city hall courtesy call kicked off with welcome honors prepared by the Zamboanga City Police Office and was capped by a short briefing at the City Hall conference room with discussions that centered on continuous cooperation, the city’s profile and priority programs as well as issues related to education, youth development as well as the prevailing peace and order situation in the city.
Zamboanga City is one of the first cities that the envoy visited outside of Metro Manila since his assumption in office in September 2016. (Bong Garcia/SunStar Philippines)