TOP officials of the City Government of San Fernando have taken initial steps in realizing their goals and ambitions for the city for the next three years, through the recent presentation and approval of the 2019-2022 Executive-Legislative Agenda (ELA).
This measure was made possible through the gathering anew of the Legislative-Executive Advisory Council (LEDAC) members, headed by Mayor Edwin “EdSa” Santiago and Vice Mayor Jimmy Lazatin, in a conference held on July 31-August 2, 2019 at Grande Island Resort in Subic, Zambales.
Now, all proposed new ordinances and resolutions, including the proposed amendments to old ordinances from Santiago, Lazatin, Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) members, and heads of offices, are set to be reviewed and pursued by the city government, together with its stakeholders and partners.
More than 70 priority programs from the local government unit’s executive departments, encompassing the current administration’s 10-point agenda, were presented during the conference, through OIC-City Planning and Development Coordinator Chryzl Sicat.
Santiago’s “Kalusugan” agenda made the largest recorded number of listed priorities under the said branch, followed by his agenda on “Pamilya.” Some of the new proposals under the health agenda are focusing on further support for barangay health workers and nutrition scholars, provision of best health and nutrition program for the CSF-LGU employees, and adaptation of Philippine Plan of Action for Nutrition, among others.
A number of items with the goal to amend existing health and safety-related ordinances were also included in the list, particularly the Smoke-Free, Himlayang Fernandino, Healthy Lifestyle/Calorie Count, and Central Pharmacy ordinances.
While an ordinance institutionalizing the city Sports Academy and resolution approving the Sports Development Plan took the lead among the listed proposals under the administration’s top agenda, “Edukasyon,” giving benefits soon to the city’s aspiring young athletes and sports enthusiasts.
The other remaining proposals fall under the following agenda: “Trabaho at Kabuhayan,” “Kalikasan at Kapaligiran,” “Kapayapaan at Kaayusan,” “Imprastraktura,” “Kalakalan at Pamumuhunan,” “Kultura at Turismo,” and “Gobyernong Mapagkakatiwalaan.”
“Ang pangarap natin sa Siyudad San Fernando, isang buhay na may kaledad. Kaya tayo naglatag ng mga agenda upang ating maging gabay sa pagbuo ng buhay na may kaledad. Ngayon, yung pangarap na ito, nabubuo na natin nang paunti-unti, mula sa pagbibigay ng magandang edukasyon sa Fernandinos hanggang sa pag-aalay ng tapat na pamamahala,” the local chief executive said.
From 535 resolutions and 140 ordinances approved in the past three years, the re-elected and neophyte city council members, being part of the “committed branch in performing effective legislative measures and actions toward the attainment of sustainable development in the city,” have also drafted priority programs for 2019-2022.
The proposed programs also covered the administration’s 10-point agenda, focusing on the following: creation of Green Building ordinance; establishment of a city library; creation of road connectivity, illumination project, and upgrading activities to infrastructures in some areas; and, creation of Comprehensive Youth Welfare and Development Code, among others.
There were also a number of amendments to old ordinances in the city, particularly on the city’s Games and Amusement and Traffic Management codes, Free Movies for all Bonafide Senior Citizens ordinance, and Plastic-Free ordinance.
“We will be working closely with the executive department in making sure that all programs will be implemented. We, in the legislative branch, commit ourselves for the active support and participation for the accomplishment of ELA,” SP Presiding Officer Lazatin said.
Alongside the presentation of the proposed programs from the executive and legislative branches, Sicat also presented the 2019 Legislative Alignment Report, comprising of facts and data on the status of the delivery of government services under different objectives and measures from year 2017 to 2018.
The report highlighted some of the notable accomplishments of the LGU in many aspects—from the education agenda’s significant increase in the completion and graduation rates of young Fernandinos—to the city’s compliance to the Partial Reorganization Ordinance where several plantilla positions in the LGU were filled up.
The Ledac Conference, which marked its 17th year in the city, was held to gather the executive and legislative leaders of the LGU in a bid to craft the 2019-2022 ELA in accordance with the further realization of CSF’s vision, “The City of San Fernando (P), Home of the Giant Lanterns, will be the Model of Countryside Development by 2025.”
“Ang Ledac ay siyang mahalagang pagkakataon upang pag-isahin ang mga ideya at naisin ng ehekutibo at lehislatibo para sa isang lokal na gobyerno. At kapag naipag-isa natin yung mga iyon, makakamit natin yung pinakamahalagang adhikain natin—ang gawing modelo ang siyudad, modelo ng isang masaya, tapat, at malinis na pangongobyerno,” Santiago expressed. (PR)