OUTGOING National President of the League of Cities of the Philippines (LCP) lawyer Ed Pamintuan gave his final address during the turnover ceremony of the LCP leadership at the 68th General Assembly of the organization held at Edsa Shangri-La on July 19.
In his final address, Pamintuan reported the accomplishments of his administration for the past three years.
“I was entrusted to lead the LCP at a period that was marked by challenging, yet exciting developments, both national and international, that impacted much on our local governments. But together, we pressed on and we delivered substantial results that redound to the benefit of our members. I am deeply grateful that each one of you has been supportive of this administration,” Pamintuan said.
Meanwhile, city mayors elected Bacolod Mayor Evelio (Bing) Leonardia as the LCP national president.
As deputy secretary-general of the previous LCP administration, Leonardia shared his primary agenda as the new head of the official association of cities in his acceptance speech.
“The most fundamental agenda for the League is to be in line with the visions of the Duterte Administration. The agenda made by the [LCP] Secretariat should be supplementary to what the mayors have in mind so we could have a platform that is an embodiment of each mayor,” said Leonardia.
City mayors also elected Cebu Mayor Edgardo Labella as the new chairperson of the LCP national executive board (NEB).
Other newly-elected members of the NEB include:
• Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte, LCP Executive Vice-President
• Calapan Mayor Arnan Panaligan, LCP Secretary-General
• Mandaluyong Mayor Menchie Abalos, Women’s Sector Representative
• Ormoc Mayor Richard Gomez, Public Relations Officer (PRO)
• San Juan Mayor Francis Zamora, Deputy PRO for NCR
• Bacoor Mayor Lani Mercado, Focal Mayor for Transportation
• Marawi Mayor Majul Gandamra, Focal Mayor for Muslim Affairs.
LGU representation in the Senate
Senator Francis Tolentino graced the event to induct the new set of officers.
As a former LCP national president and current the Senate Committee Chairman on Local Government, Tolentino invited mayors to work more closely with him in pursuing the interests of LGUs.
“I filed a resolution encouraging DILG to include smart cities concept as a part of the SGLG. I modified the bill filed by Senator Poe on giving the President emergency powers on transport, not only to cover Metro Manila, but also all the urban growth centers in the Philippines,” said Tolentino.
The conduct of the 68th General Assembly of the League of Cities of the Philippines was made possible thanks to the generous support of TriMotors Technology Corporation (Gold Sponsor); Signify Philippines, Inc. (Silver Sponsor); and Meralco.