OUTGOING Bacolod City Mayor Evelio Leonardia stepped down as the national president of the 145-member League of Cities of the Philippines (LCP) during the organization's special assembly at the Marriott Hotel in Manila recently.
"Working with you has made me a better public servant and a better man (and) I am because we are," Leonardia, who was given a standing ovation at the assembly by his peers from other highly urbanized cities, said.
He was elected LCP national president during the League's 68th General Assembly on July 19, 2019.
Leonardia was eventually named by President Rodrigo Duterte as representative of about 2,000 local government units (LGUs) to the Legislators-Executive Development Advisory Council (Ledac).
Ledac is the highest advisory council to the president on development and economic matters, among others.
Last week's gathering was the league's first face-to-face general assembly since the onset of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) in 2020.
"It has been a term like no other (because) the pandemic dominated our lives, changed the complexity of things and introduced new challenges no one before us faced," Leonardia said as he recalled the challenges they faced due to the pandemic.
The global crisis, however, brought out the best from the members as they "responded, rose to the occasion and fought back" to the many challenges of the past three years, the mayor said.
"It was a situation that called for the best of us... It made us more innovative and creative and squeezed the best out of us," Leonardia stressed.
Leonardia also recognized the efforts of the LCP as it continued its functions amid the pandemic by setting up directions, establishing guidelines and policies, and responding to the needs of constituents and leading officials in their battle against Covid-19.
The league was also at the forefront of the multilateral agreement that assured the supply of AstraZeneca vaccines, he added.
The mayor likewise lauded the contributions of the members of the LCP Board, the cooperation of all city mayors and the efforts of the secretariat as they recovered from a brief slump in collecting membership dues in 2019 to a record-breaking P26.7 million in 2021, the highest since 2013.
The league's treasurer's report also indicated that under Leonardia's term, he will leave behind funds amounting to about P58 million.
"This only proves that working together will help us get through difficult times. I will never forget your hard work and support throughout these difficult times," he said.
Meanwhile, Leonardia admitted that while being the LCP national president came with glitz and glamour, it was also a "total learning experience" where he learned valuable lessons during his tenure.
"You made me a better public servant and a better man,” Leonardia reiterated.
He added, "it was an honor and privilege, indeed, to have been given the opportunity to serve my fellow mayors of this League. Knowing who you are is exceedingly flattering but absolutely challenging."
But the bottom-line, he said, is this rare distinction of sharing the last three years with worthy, dedicated and proven public servants. (PR)