ANGELES CITY -- The local government here headed by Mayor Edgardo Pamintuan together with members of the private sector are now preparing and getting set for the Livable Cities Design Challenge Urban Planning Competition for this year.
Prior to this, the Local Government Unit of Angeles City received a letter of invitation from the National Competitiveness Council challenging not only the City Government, but also its community to participate in the said competition which was only offered to 20 cities in the entire country.
According to the mayor, being one of the 20 cities in the Philippines to participate in the competition, which is the first ever to be held in the country, is an honor in itself.
"The invitation that the APEC committee offered to us is a strong manifestation that they believe in the capabilities of our local government, from its officials, to the officers, down to the rank-and-file," said the mayor, who added that it is with the cooperation of the employees that they were able to implement profound changes in Angeles City.
Being awarded by the SMI as the Most Outstanding Mayor of 2013 last March 25 at the Mandarin Hotel in Makati City, Pamintuan added that the citation is also an indication of his administration’s consistency in practicing good governance and the delivery of services that is needed by the Angeleños.
"Eligibility to be a participant in the said competition is clearly another feat for it implies that the city is competent in terms of development and urbanization," Pamintuan said.
With Angeles City’s P675 billion worth of investments, it is undeniable that even global brands can invest in the city, thus attracting more tourists and migrants.
Planning, tasks and machinery
One of the major goals of the City Government to successfully make Angeles a liveable city is to address several problems and establish a sustainable and resilient living space.
The mayor aims for the city government buildings to be disaster-resistant and in hazard-free locations while serving the public in pre-and post-disaster phases.
In line with this, the City Government’s local engineers and architects are called to sit and discuss their conceptual designs, architectural perspectives and site plans.
The planning and design phase in the competition time table will run from May to July of 2014.
The challenge was organized by the APEC National Organizing Council, National Competitiveness Council, Urban Land Institute, Asia Society, World Wildlife Fund, and Assure with the support of USAID and Microsoft.