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1 "GOOD GOVERNANCE AND INCLUSIVE GROWTH, A CONTINUING LEGACY" The 2015 State of the City Address of Honorable Evelyn T. Uy, City Mayor of Dipolog 14 April 2015; 2:00 P.M.; Atrium, Top Plaza Hotel, Dipolog City HONORABLE VICE MAYOR and Presiding Officer of the Sangguniang Panlungsod, DR. HORACIO B. VELASCO; HONORABLE MEMBERS OF THE SANGGUNIANG PANLUNGSOD; Our distinguished Representatives at the Lower House of Congress, HONORABLE ROSENDO "DODOY" LABADLABAD of the 2nd District, and HONORABLE ISAGANI S. AMATONG of the 3rd District of Zamboanga del Norte; HONORABLE ROBERTO Y. UY, Provincial Governor of Zamboanga del Norte; HONORABLE VICE GOVERNOR SENEN O. ANGELES and the DISTINGUISHED MEMBERS OF THE SANGGUNIANG PANLALAWIGAN; MEMBERS OF THE JUDICIARY; Our hardworking BARANGAY CAPTAINS and COUNCIL MEMBERS of the twenty-one barangays of Dipolog; Heads of the different national line agencies and offices; Officers and gentlemen of the uniformed service, Col. JESUS MANANQUIL, Commander of the 101st Army Infantry Brigade; Police Superintendent Rannie Hachuela, Chief of Police of Dipolog; OIC-PNP Provincial Director

HONORABLE VICE MAYOR and Presiding Officer of the ...v2.dipologcity.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/SOCA-2015_Mayor... · Sangguniang Panlungsod, DR. ... Our hardworking BARANGAY

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"GOOD GOVERNANCE AND INCLUSIVE GROWTH, A CONTINUING LEGACY"

The 2015 State of the City Address of Honorable Evelyn T. Uy, City Mayor of Dipolog 14 April 2015; 2:00 P.M.; Atrium, Top Plaza Hotel, Dipolog City

HONORABLE VICE MAYOR and Presiding Officer of the Sangguniang Panlungsod, DR. HORACIO B. VELASCO; HONORABLE MEMBERS OF THE SANGGUNIANG PANLUNGSOD; Our distinguished Representatives at the Lower House of Congress, HONORABLE ROSENDO "DODOY" LABADLABAD of the 2nd District, and HONORABLE ISAGANI S. AMATONG of the 3rd District of Zamboanga del Norte; HONORABLE ROBERTO Y. UY, Provincial Governor of Zamboanga del Norte; HONORABLE VICE GOVERNOR SENEN O. ANGELES and the DISTINGUISHED MEMBERS OF THE SANGGUNIANG PANLALAWIGAN; MEMBERS OF THE JUDICIARY; Our hardworking BARANGAY CAPTAINS and COUNCIL MEMBERS of the twenty-one barangays of Dipolog; Heads of the different national line agencies and offices; Officers and gentlemen of the uniformed service, Col. JESUS MANANQUIL, Commander of the 101st Army Infantry Brigade; Police Superintendent Rannie Hachuela, Chief of Police of Dipolog; OIC-PNP Provincial Director

2

Our active partners in development: the members of the Business Community led by the Dipolog Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Non-Government and Peoples' Organizations, Civil Society, the Religious Sector, members of the Media; My fellow workers in the City Government; Mga pinalangga kong Dipolognon,

MAAYONG HAPON KANATONG TANAN!

Last year, I stood before you and declared that the success of

Dipolog is a result of our people's journey to good governance. As

we gather here this afternoon for my 8th annual report to the

people, I would like to start exactly where we left off a year ago.

Sa miaging tuig, gihimo ko ang usa ka panaad isip Mayor ug

inahan sa dakbayan nga ako mahimong usa uban kaninyo ug

magkuyog ta sa kalambuan.

From that day, we have had so many successes in a lot of fronts.

Today, I can sum up the condition and the state of our city as

stronger and bolder. Development has definitely arrived in

Dipolog.

3

Our city is no longer the sleepy, backward town of 20 years ago.

Our city is now facing the same challenges typical of a growing,

developing urban center: High and rapid population growth,

heavily increasing population density, space congestion and rising

resource consumption, among other concerns. Add to it the

limitation on resources -- financial and others -- which strains the

capability of the local government to properly and expeditiously

address said concerns.

We are a relatively small city of 134,000 people but we have seen

remarkable growth as our population has nearly doubled in just 25

years. And our city's population density is the highest in the

Zamboanga Peninsula region at nearly a thousand people per

square kilometer.

This fact can largely be attributed to the rapid economic growth

that our city has seen in the last decade. From seven urban

barangays and 14 rural barangays ten years ago, the landscape

has dramatically changed. Dipolog now has 14 urban barangays

and only seven remained rural.

4

Of course, accompanying development are the multifarious

concerns that we have to face. But believe me when I say that life

in Dipolog is still getting more exciting by the day. In fact, people

have never been this excited about Dipolog -- Businesses and

banks are opening left and right; the volume of new business

investments is on a steady increase; the first commercial

passenger marine vessel, the MV Lady of Good Voyage of

Medallion Transport, is on its third week plying the direct Cebu-

Dipolog route using our very own Dipolog Sea Port in Galas; the

Dipolog Airport's new terminal building will be operational very

soon; as well as the Corazon Aquino Hospital; plus many other

public investments on infrastructure and facilities.

So you may ask, how are we able to manage to be this vibrant

despite our limited local resources?

I say, in our belief that INNOVATION is key to addressing

resource problems. Local governments are now challenged with

an increasing demand from its constituency to address growing

societal problems and at the same time people are now expecting

greater transparency, efficiency and a more effective delivery of

public goods and services from civil servants.

5

I would like to give special emphasis on the resource partnership

that our City has forged with the national government. For the first

time in decades, Dipolog has gotten the important attention in

terms of the volume of projects poured, the amount of which runs

in the hundreds of millions of pesos. We can't thank enough His

Excellency Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III for all of these. President

Aquino made sure that the people of Dipolog and Zamboanga del

Norte will benefit from the country's inclusive economic growth.

This year, we will be seeing the completion and progress of

various big-ticket infrastructure projects in our city.

* The Corazon C. Aquino Hospital with a total project of

cost of 250-Million Pesos will be inaugurated later this year

after we have completed the acquisition of hospital

equipment and fixtures.

* We have recently completed the 8-Million-Peso Phase I of

improvements at the Cogon Eco-Tourism Park using

funding from the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise

Zone Authority or TIEZA.

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* The rehabilitation of Dipolog Communal Irrigation System

worth over 58-Million Pesos. The funding from this project

came from the Agrarian Reform Communities Project II, the

Performance-Based Incentive Award from the Department of

Finance and local counterpart from the city government.

* The Department of Tourism has likewise spent 100

Million Pesos to start the extension of the Dipolog

Boulevard.

* Ongoing implementation now is the rehabilitation and

extension of the breakwater at the Dipolog Sea Port in

Galas. A total of 45-Million Pesos was allocated by the

Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC)

for this project.

* Likewise, DPWH Region 9 is implementing a number of

other infrastructure projects to include widening of various

roads in the city; completion of the River Control worth over

200-Million Pesos; as well as the concreting of the Cogon-

Diwan Road leading to Sungkilaw Falls. These tourism-

support infrastructure, which also include the Linabo Road,

are worth more than 300-Million Pesos.

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Magpasalamat kita sa atong pinalanggang Presidente

Noynoy Aquino gumikan sa dakong tabang nga iyang

nahatag sa pagpalambo sa Dipolog.

Dipolog's story is getting better by the day. Now, we are starting

to see the results. This afternoon, we look back at what we have

accomplished and achieved last year.

(DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION)

Our experience in Dipolog is that innovation calls not only for

improvement but the greater work of TRANSFORMATION. The

Dipolog that we are seeing and experiencing now is a product of a

number of innovative practices, ideas and programs.

Last October, our city was bestowed with the prestigious Gawad

Galing Pook for the Dipolog Urban Renewal Program. Our city's

urban development and renewal was cited for being one of the

ten most outstanding and model local governance programs in

the country as it embodied multi-dimensional objectives not only

for environmental protection, but socio-economic and cultural

development, as well.

8

We all know the story of how Dipolog was able to transform the

lives of 500 families who were former informal settlers at the

coastline of the city. Many fisherfolks and a greater number of

migrants from other places have built shanties over the coast

creating a slum out of a very important natural resource of our

place. We used to call it as Dipolog's longest toilet. It was

unsightly but more over it was definitely a degrading and unsafe

living condition for the families in that slum.

A strong political will and the sincerity to uplift the lives of the

people made the difference. People had to be relocated from the

coastal slum which is both a disaster to the environment as it is

also a disaster for the people who were perennially affected by

storm surges during typhoons.

Fast-forward to present time, from slum, the coastal area has

been transformed and is now named as the Dipolog Boulevard,

the hub of community events for leisure, sports and wellness,

entertainment, cultural heritage promotion, among other diverse

uses.

9

Our Boulevard has become the city's magnet to attract

businesses to develop and locate in the area and the city's

business district. At present, 15 businesses have opened shop at

the two-commercial buildings -- most of these businesses are

owned by young local startup entrepreneurs. Aside from

contributing an additional 5-Million Peso annual income for the

city coffers in the form of space rentals at the commercial

building, the boulevard has provided a sustainable source of

income for local micro-entrepreneurs such as balut and barbeque

vendors, fruit traders and other small food stall operators.

In early February of this year, I was able to present our success

story in Singapore before a panel of urban infrastructure

international experts and they were awed by the transformation

that we were able to achieve. Likewise, only last week, the

Philippine Political Science Association had their professional

conference here in Dipolog and a number of them were one in

saying that what we have is a perfect example of how local

governments can innovate and forge collaborations to realize

inclusive growth and felt development by the people.

10

The innovative transformation story should not end here. Let's

look at the 500 families whose lives were dramatically changed

after they were relocated from the coastal slum.

They now live in a better and functional community complete with

public utilities, education and health facilities, livelihood and

income opportunities. The local government's sincere intent to

save these people from imminent danger of natural disasters and

environmental decay far outweighed the political risks that

accompanied such transformation.

Our successes will be in vain if we are not able to sustain the

conditions that prevailed when we worked for it. This is where the

importance of maintaining our peace, order and security get into

play and we appreciate the efforts of the men and women of our

police, military, fire and rescue units.

A growing local economy coupled with lack of public vigilance is

often an ingredient of rising crimes. A good foresight and a

working plan is therefore needed to avert the proliferation of

criminality.

11

Last month, the Dipolog Police Station under the leadership of

P/Supt. Hachuela, presented to the City's Peace and Order

Council what they call as LACAP or the Localized Anti-Criminality

Action Plan against Theft and Robbery. This particular plan calls

for a 60% massive reduction, if not total elimination, of theft and

robbery cases against present crime statistics. We need to

support PNP and AFP programs like this as it will definitely benefit

everyone.

(SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT)

I have always said that the heart of our governance

transformation is the effective and efficient delivery of various

social development services to our people.

Our performance in the health sector is one that is worthy of

admiration. We have maintained in the last three years -- that is

from 2012 to 2014 -- our ZERO MATERNAL DEATH record.

Likewise, our infant mortality rate has declined to a measly 0.007

percent. Also, our tuberculosis cure rate remains high at 90

percent, surpassing the Department of Health's 85 percent cure

target.

12

Our steadfast dedication over the years to keep the general

health needs and welfare of our people has rewarded us. In 2014,

Dipolog City was bestowed the honor of being awarded the Red

Orchid Hall of Fame for our resolve to implement the NO

SMOKING campaign in all public places and conveyances.

Likewise, Dipolog City holds a Hall of Fame and has the singular

honor of being the only Mindanao city to be nominated in the

national level Child-Friendly City Award.

But these recognitions would spell bigger meaning if we can

likewise improve our nutrition record. As I speak now, we still

have 205 Dipolognon children who are suffering from malnutrition.

While this represents only a meager 1.1% of the total child

population of the City, we definitely should not stop until we arrest

this problem. We cannot stop until the last malnourished child

becomes healthy.

I therefore challenge our City Nutrition Office, City Health Office,

the City Social Welfare and Development Office, other relevant

units of the city government and our barangays to work hand-in-

hand and to work thoroughly to address this problem.

13

I challenge you that instead of the target to lower malnutrition by

0.1 percent this year, let us do a breakthrough by erasing

malnutrition cases in Dipolog before I end my term as Mayor. Let

us target ZERO MALNUTRITION in Dipolog.

A growing city also has growing health needs. It is the dream of

my administration, with the full support of our doctor-Vice Mayor

and the Sangguniang Panlungsod, that we are able to provide

quality medical services to our people. This dream will come true

this year as we are set to open very soon the Corazon C. Aquino

Hospital of our city government.

This 150-bed capacity hospital follows the so-called Four As of

effectiveness of a hospital system, namely: Accessibility,

Availability, Affordability and Acceptability. The new city hospital

has the following facilities: Emergency Room, Operating Room,

Out-Patient Department, Pharmacy, Delivery Room, Labor Room,

Recovery Room, Nursery, Laboratory, Diagnostic Center and

others.

Again, we express our profound thanks to President Aquino for

bringing our dream into a reality. Finally, Dipolognons will have a

hospital that we can call as our own.

14

Last year, I promised that the city government will continue

investing on our people through education. And that's exactly

what we did. That is actually what we have been doing ever since

the onset of this administration.

In close collaboration and partnership with the Department of

Education, the DPWH, Governor Roberto Uy, Congressman

Dodoy Labadlabad and the Federation of Filipino-Chinese

Chamber of Commerce, we set out on a mission to close the gap

of classroom deficit in our city. Among others, let me cite the

partnership that we are trying to forge with the Provincial

Government for the construction this year of an 80-classroom,

three-storey building at the Zamboanga del Norte National High

School.

While we are gaining grounds on classroom provision, we are set

to face yet another formidable challenge: The K-to-12 Program

which requires Kinder plus two additional years in our basic

education program.

15

I am proud to announce that in our desire to fully prepare all

concerned, Dipolog was selected as one of the ten pilot cities of

the League of Cities of the Philippines for their Senior High

School (SHS) Program. In fact, our City Schools Division

Superintendent Victorina Perez prepared an impressive budget

proposal and action plan for the implementation of Senior High

School in Dipolog City. This will serve as the model action plan for

other LGUs in the implementation of SHS.

I am also committed to continue extending full support for poor

but deserving youths so they are able to continue their schooling.

We have at present a total of 40 scholarship grants made

available through the Alay Lakad Council. Those who cannot

afford college degree programs can be accommodated in the

Alternative Learning System of DepEd .

We have set our sights, together with DepEd, in ensuring that our

young people can have the best shot at education. Our goals are:

Every 6-year-old must be able to read; every 12-year-old must be

able to go to high school; every 16-year-old must be able to go to

college or to skills training centers; and every adult Dipolognon

must be able to keep on learning for a lifetime.

16

Part of the city's collaborative innovation in delivering education

for all is the partnership of the Technical Education and Skills

Development Authority or TESDA and the Dipolog City Livelihood

Skills Development and Enhancement Center (LSDEC).

A total of over 1.5-Million Pesos was invested by TESDA last year

in the form of scholarships under their Special Training for

Employment Program (STEP) and the Training for Work

Scholarship Program or TWSP. In 2014, a total of 224 people

benefitted from this partnership. These figures are in addition to

the 185 scholar grantees of the city government through LSDEC

who were trained and certified in Welding, Plumbing, Wheel-

loader, and Electrical Installation and Maintenance. These are no

longer numbers, no longer statistics of unemployment but

individuals who now have a greater chance of improving their

stake in life either as workers or entrepreneurs.

Meanwhile, a total of 1.9-Million Pesos was poured in by the

Department of Labor Employment (DOLE) through various

programs benefitting Dipolognons. Four-hundred young people,

including the one-hundred-forty out-of-school youth scholars of

the city government, benefitted from DOLE's Special Program for

the Employment of Students (SPES).

17

Also implemented in 2014 are the Bicycle and Kayak Rental

Services Project for Out-of-School-Youths of Barangay Barra and

Estaka, respectively, and garments-making project at Barangay

Olingan.

(ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT)

Dipolog's economy is growing by leaps and bounds. This is no

longer a cliche but a reality that is founded on hard evidence

supported by economic data.

Our 2014 figures reveal that new businesses registered during the

year posted a total of 138-Million Pesos of fresh capital infusion in

the local economy. Likewise, collection of business taxes and

fees for last year totaled 40.2-Million Pesos which is 7.6 percent

more than the collection in 2013. We thank the local business

community for religiously paying your business taxes.

Meantime, while the local economy remains bullish, property

development is also picking the upbeat pace. Last year, a total of

619 new buildings were constructed in our city at a total cost of

370-Million Pesos. Of these, 202-Million Pesos were for new

commercial and industrial buildings.

18

It is therefore not surprising that banks have trained their sights

on Dipolog for their expansion. Aside from the 4 new banks which

opened in 2013, three others have located in Dipolog during the

first quarter of 2015.

Dipolog's viability as a business brand has been tried and tested

over the last couple of years and the challenge now is how we are

able to sustain investment interest. One way is for government to

give the kind of service that businesses deserve. Over the last

few years, your city government has seriously been working out

innovations and transformations to make processes more

business-friendly and to scale up our city's business

competitiveness.

One important breakthrough towards achieving this is the further

streamlining of our Business Permits and Licensing System or

BPLS. Starting with our Business-One-Stop-Shop in January of

this year, we have reduced the number of business registration

steps from the previous 11 to only FOUR STEPS.

19

With the reduction in steps, processing time has likewise

dramatically reduced. On the average, we can expect that

processing time from submission of complete application to

releasing of computation of taxes and fees to be about 2 hours

per application. Permit applications filed in the morning will more

likely be approved and released the same day.

To avert reliance and heavy dependence of the local government

on its internal revenue allotment, there is a conscious effort to

improve generation of local income from our established Public

Economic Enterprises. In 2014, we were able to generate more

than 88-Million Pesos from our economic enterprises. Allow me to

recognize the following income centers in terms of their annual

collection:

* City Public Market contributed a total of 18.2-Million Pesos;

* Land Transport Terminal, 9.2-Million Pesos;

* Fishport, 5.7-Million Pesos;

* City Slaughterhouse, 3.6-Million Pesos;

* Motorpool, 2.7-Million Pesos; and

* Ice Plant, 2-Million Pesos.

20

I congratulate the men and women of our economic enterprises

team headed by our City Administrator for their continuing effort to

reach their income goals and targets. Your efforts are greatly

appreciated.

A good leader knows that if performance is good, the worst thing

that can happen is for people to relax and lose the steam. That is

what we are always trying to avoid. I have therefore instructed our

City Investments Promotion Center to study the creation of an

Economic Development Board that will oversee the business

sustainability of our city's economic enterprises, as well as the

overall business competitiveness of Dipolog.

Of course, our marginalized farmers would not be left out. Still in

line with our goal of bringing inclusive growth to our people, our

Agriculture Office has launched last year the Dipolog Nature

Farming Program which aims to produce organic rice and

vegetables as a viable livelihood.

21

At present, the program which is implemented in partnership with

DAR and DA has benefitted a total of 120 farmers. These farmers

underwent technical training on organic vegetable and rice

production. Their organic produce serves as a steady supply of

required food items for the 120-day feeding program of the City

Social Welfare and Development Office.

(INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT)

An important ingredient to securing economic growth is the

massive investment by government in public infrastructure. This is

necessary not only to serve the requirements of growth but also to

generate mass employment, provide better access and deliver

services to the populace.

In 2014, the City Government implemented and accomplished

various infrastructure development projects to include roads and

bridges, school buildings and facilities, public buildings, drainage

and irrigation, amounting to a total of 103.5-Million Pesos.

Funding for these projects came from the national government,

the 20% economic development fund and other local sources.

22

Allow me to once again express our city government's

appreciation to our national leadership and to our Governor

Roberto Uy and Congressman Dodoy Labadlabad for their

unwavering support to help us develop our beloved city.

Our winning of the Gawad Galing Pook for our Urban

Development Program has made us realize that investing for the

welfare of our people will bring remarkable rewards as it will also

have lasting impact on the many lives touched. The development

of the boulevard is an important infrastructure project as it is also

a significant undertaking on good governance, social and

economic development.

This realization was further validated when our city underwent an

investment prioritization and programming exercise in early

February of this year under the supervision of the Cities

Development Initiative in Asia or CDIA.

The investment programming exercise identified as our top

priority and flagship project the Integrated Urban Development

Program. This will take from the initial success of the first phases

of the Boulevard Foreshore Development Project.

23

The master development plan to complete the boulevard includes

the reclamation and construction of an additional 2-kilometer

stretch of protective seawall and boulevard concourse. The

additional area will provide us the space to construct other

amenities such as additional commercial buildings and tourist

facilities to further boost business vibrancy and to generate

additional income opportunities for the people. Next to these is

the completion of the Dipolog Sea Port on one end of the

Boulevard in Galas and the rehabilitation and improvement of the

existing Dipolog Fishport at the other end.

This Port-to-Port Development as part of the integrated urban

development program will kick off the further development of our

city into an important hub for agri-aqua-and-light manufacturing

industries, as well as further boost our tourism arrivals.

(A COMMON VISION AND A SHARED FUTURE)

While it may be clear for me from my first day in office that I am to

make a difference as Mayor of this City, the entire bureaucracy

lacks the focus and the strategy to secure the growth that is at our

doorstep.

24

A common vision and a shared future is what we developed as

one city when we took that first bold step in a long transformation

journey which began in late 2009 as we install Performance

Governance System (PGS) in the Dipolog City Government.

Five years ago, we crafted our long-term goal of becoming a God-

centered, peaceful and self-reliant super city by the year 2030.

We all know this as our City's Swigapore vision.

By 2014, we were selected as part of the 10 Philippine cities that

will pilot the Islands of Good Governance (IGG) Program. IGG is

a program that will prepare a showcase of cities highlighting the

competitiveness of the Philippines in time for the country's hosting

of the APEC Summit later this year.

IGG required a sharpening of the city's focus and identified a

unique and niche advantage for each of the participating city.

From there was born the Basecamp 2020 or medium-term vision

of Dipolog as the Center of Outdoor Sports of the South.

In the next five years, we expect to turn Dipolog as the preferred

venue of various outdoor sports competitions and events in the

country.

25

The core innovation here is that the vision will use outdoor sports

as a hook to raise awareness, investments and generate

economic impact and sustain the city in the long term. Dipolog

Sports City is expected to facilitate the influx of visitors -- in large

groups, as opposed to the traditional tourism promotion approach

of targeting individual tourists, families and small groups.

From here, it will now be easy for Dipolog to take off and work on

achieving its greater aspiration and realize the Swigapore future.

PGS has set a new pulse, a drumbeat that changed not only the

pace of things at City Hall but also, and more importantly, a new

perspective of how to better address process improvements and

deliver goods and services with excellence.

Our early wins can be summed up by updates on some of our key

strategic initiatives.

26

1) Maabi-abihong Dipolognon (Tourist-Friendly Barangay

Accreditation Program)

Following a criteria developed by the City Tourism Office,

Barangays worked on adopting and complying with the clean,

orderly, safe and congenial environment or COSCO requirement

to be accredited as a tourist-friendly barangay. Just a few weeks

ago, Barangay Olingan and Barangay Cogon were adjudged as

the Most Tourist-Friendly Barangays of Dipolog.

2) Development of Dipolog Sports Complex and Cogon Eco-Park

Master development plans for the Dipolog Sports Complex in

Olingan and the Cogon Eco-Park were developed aligned with the

aim of preparing these two areas as investment-ready facilities.

Various outdoor sports facilities are being planned for these two

areas either for PPP or external funding.

27

3) Hapsay Kanunay (BPLS Improvement)

This particular initiative worked on improving the service delivery

for business permits and licensing system at City Hall. From a

previous total of 11 steps, an improved BPLS now only has 4

steps.

4) Dipolog's Best

This initiative is being shared by the City Cooperative Office,

LSDEC and the City Agriculture Office. A total of 8 community

associations were organized and registered by the Cooperative

Office with DOLE. These organizations were then trained by

LSDEC on the production of following Dipolog's Best products:

Pancit fortified with Moringga and Squash, Cassava Chips and

Bottled Sibuying Pickles.

After production, the City Agriculture is helping the associations

with marketing their products. Among the marketing agreements

entered by these community associations include the supplying

of pancit to DSWD for use in the latter's feeding program. It is

hoped that in the long-run Dipolog's Best can be sustained and

provide a steady income opportunity for the associations and its

members.

28

5) Sporty Dipolog

This particular initiative is an ongoing advocacy campaign which

results in the engagement of each and every Dipolognon in at

least one sports activity. Offices assigned for this advocacy

targets for specific sectors such as business, youth and women.

The Office of the Vice Mayor is an active proponent of Sporty

Dipolog through the conduct of regular zumba exercises at Plaza

Magsaysay.

Each and every employee at City Hall associates himself or

herself to at least one initiative. This ensures that everyone aligns

and claims ownership and belongingness to one common vision

however small the contribution may be.

In a few weeks, I will be personally presenting before a Public

Revalida in Manila our activities and gains in relation to our city’s

transformation through PGS. I am positive that we will be able to

pass Proficiency, the second to the last stage of the PGS

governance pathway.

29

(CONCLUDING PART)

In closing, I have always believed that good governance bear

fruits. After planting the seed of good governance, we are now

ready to harvest.

I would like to stress that innovation is a function of leadership

and governance to create and inspire transformation for local

development.

I express my gratitude to our Sangguniang Panlungsod under the

able leadership of our Vice Mayor for their commitment and for

playing an important role in steering the wheel of progress

through enactment of legislative measures for the betterment of

each and every Dipolognon.

After today, I will only have a little over four hundred days in office

as City Mayor. I will devote that one year in ensuring that I leave a

continuing legacy of good governance and inclusive growth.

30

As I leave the post of City Mayor next year, I can tell myself that I

have been successful in my try to inspire my fellow Dipolognons

to rally behind their government and work towards that legacy,

towards one common vision and towards a shared future for all.

Dipolog may be a small place in terms of sheer size but our

dreams are big. Let me tell you the good news: WE ARE

GETTING THERE.

Daghang salamat ug maayong hapon sa tanan.