THE increase in employment, as well as the growth of the business sector, prioritization of citizens’ mental and overall health, people-centered governance, and improvement of disaster resiliency in Mandaue City were among the highlights of Mayor Jonas Cortes’s State of the City Address (Soca) on Monday, July 31, 2023.
In his speech at the Mandaue City Sports and Cultural Complex, Cortes showcased how the city increased its employment, having 70,830 employed individuals from January to June, an increase of nearly 3,000 from 67,874 in the same period last year.
Likewise, he said the city generated more new jobs for the first six months of the year, with 2,470, an increase from the 1,880 generated in 2022.
Better collection
He attributed the improvements to the City’s increased revenue and business tax collection, which he said validates the stability of Mandaue and boosts business confidence.
Cortes also cited the increase in the number of registered companies in the city, already at 16,278 from January to June of this year alone, from 16,845 for the whole of 2022, which converted into a rise in Mandaue’s renewed capital investment to P57.98 billion from P55.89 billion.
“Our efforts led to Mandaue being recognized as the 2022 Most Business-Friendly Local Government Unit - City Level 1B Provincial Highly Urbanized City Category by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry as well as the top 7 - most competitive in economic dynamism by the Department of Trade and Industry’s Cities and Municipalities Competitiveness Index,” said Cortes.
Cortes also spoke about gains in its efforts to improve the quality of life of Mandauehanons through the provision of health insurance and housing, and improvement in the water quality of the Butuanon River and level of public service through the construction of a proposed one-stop government center.
Overall health in focus
Cortes also highlighted the city’s intervention to prioritize health through the provision of infant immunization and other disease-prevention vaccines to people.
He said the city government allocated P24 million to finance health insurance, particularly for the 4,826 vulnerable Mandauehanons enrolled with the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth), adding that the city was recognized as the first local government unit (LGU) in Central Visayas to become a “Universal Health Care Integration Site” that allows faster linkage to big public hospitals.
He also announced the implementation of the city’s Mental Health Ordinance, which entails that all mental health services, such as advocacy and psychological intervention programs, among others, be made available in communities and workplaces, aside from their ongoing interventions.
People-centered
Cortes also showcased how the services of the city government were brought closer to people’s doorsteps with the implementation of people-centered programs such as the establishment of puroks (smaller community groups) within barangays in providing direct assistance, the “Tabang Mandaue program” with the Department of Social Welfare and Development 7 through its Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS) and providing medical and burial assistance, and the “Barangayan” inspired by Capitol’s Caravan of Provincial Government Services.
He also gave a glimpse of the city’s one-stop-shop government center building, to be established to replace the Cebu International Convention Center, which was damaged by the 2013 Cebu and Bohol earthquake. It will be a green building containing the offices of the city government and regional agencies. The budget and implementation date of the government center have yet to be announced.
The mayor also mentioned the city government’s ongoing socialized housing projects to build homes for Mandaue’s informal settler families, such as the Tipolo Residences in Barangay Tipolo comprising five five-story buildings (two of which had their topping off ceremony last Friday), and the Pasilong Para sa Paradise for temporary housing in Barangay Guizo.
Cleaner Butuanon
Another significant milestone Cortes shared was the upgrade of the Butuanon River from Class D to Class C, which he attributed to the roundtable discussions with the Cebu City Government and other stakeholders that Mandaue City hosted right after the massive flash flood that displaced at least 2,000 families and swept away 16 houses when the river overflowed in September last year.
Under the classifications given by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in its assessment of fresh water, a Class D river means the water is ideal solely for agriculture, irrigation and livestock watering, while Class C means the water is already safe for fish propagation and other aquatic resources.
The Butuanon River starts from the mountains in upper Cebu City, crosses Mandaue City, then drains into the Mactan Channel.
He also mentioned the ongoing implementation of the Comprehensive Drainage Master Plan to solve Mandaue’s flood problem.
Around 4,000 Mandaue citizens, officials and other stakeholders, including Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia, Sixth District Board Members Glenn Anthony Soco and Thadeo “Jonkie” Ouano, and Office of the Presidential Assistant for the Visayas Undersecretary Terrence Calatrava attended the Soca ceremony at the Mandaue City Sports and Cultural Complex Monday, July 31, 2023.
Satisfied
In random interviews conducted by SunStar Cebu, Mandauehanons shared their satisfaction with Cortes’s service since he won a second straight three-year term last year. Cortes was also mayor from 2007 to 2016.
Rolan Faelnar, 27, and Irish Ancajas, 37, both from Barangay Guizo, said Cortes stayed true to his word to prioritize persons with disability like them for cash assistance, among other services.
Christine Mae Acuyan, 21, a Mandaue City scholar from Barangay Tabok, lauded the city government for its scholarship grants, saying it has allowed students from low-income families to have access to quality education.
Criselda Digrasya, 52, a street vendor from Barangay Looc, hopes the city government will also consider giving financial assistance to vendors to augment the capital for their businesses.
The Mandaue City Police Office assessed that the event was peacefully and orderly held.
Police Corporal Deen Fischer Enerlan, one of the head security at the event, said they received no reports of chaos or criminal activity before or after the Soca. (WITH CHERRY ANN VIRADOR, BENEDICTO COLLEGE INTERN AND CHRYS CHELSEA BERNALES, UP CEBU INTERN)