ILOILO City – The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has not stopped the city government from delivering programs and services to the Ilonggos.
This was emphasized by Mayor Jerry Treñas during his State of the City Address (SOCA) over the weekend. Accomplishments of his administration were shown through a video production.
Among these were the provision of food to barangays and families under quarantine (357,600 canned goods, 6,187 sacks of rice at 50 kilos each sack and 107,000 packed noodles); JPT Ediscape Program which transformed the then dumpsite into a community garden in 180 barangays here; distribution of 125 bikes to the city’s frontliners; and provision of 259 units of laptops for teachers which complemented the surplus P15-million from the Special Education Fund.
Treñas particularly highlighted the Ilonggos’ prevailing hopes, strength and unity amid the pandemic.
“As we continue to fight with this unseen enemy that recurrently gives us immense stress, we are reminded of our prevailing virtues of hope and strength as Ilonggos – hope that things will get better and strength to hold on until all this is over,” said Treñas.
The Uswag Community Kitchen is one proof of the Ilonggos’ unity during the pandemic, the mayor said.
Through it, the city was able to distribute food packs to quarantine facilities, mentally-challenged residents and frontline workers (police personnel assigned to man check points for border restrictions, Iloilo City Community College or ICCC dormers, molecular laboratory medical technologists, swab test personnel, and vaccinators).
Specifically, it was able to serve 3,665 food packs for breakfast; 6,556 for lunch; 1,837 for dinner from June 2 to July 9, 2021. The meals were prepared by volunteers that included 30 daycare teachers and supplemental feeding staff, and 17 ICCC admin staff.
Other accomplishments the city mayor cited were:
* 504 Uswag scholars or recipients from the local government unit local fund who received P10,000 for school year 2020-2021
* support for the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged / Displaced Workers program of the Department of Labor and Employment with a total of 7,480 beneficiaries
* construction of the Jaro police station
* police vehicles which include eight 4×4 Hilux, 25 motorcycles, 3 Special Weapons and Tactics vehicles and two Jack Russel Terrier for the city’s Explosive Ordnance Division, and 20 mountain bikes for patrolling
* community disinfection (public markets, barangays)
Treñas said the Ilonggos’ acts of bayanihan through various initiatives to help communities were a reminder of the “weight of humanity and how everything is interconnected as the implications of our actions greatly affect our sense of hope and strength to see the silver lining even in the face of adversity.”
“The situation has given us an opportunity to empathize to others and lend a helping hand in ways we can,” he added.
The city mayor also emphasized that the past months have given everyone clear narratives of how hope emerged through volunteerism and giving back to the community – those who have abundance have more to offer, and those who have less draw hope from the help of others.
“May we all remember our individual roles in our fight against this pandemic. Let us all make our bayanihan spirit a pillar in which humanity is built. My beloved Ilonggos, it is only when we have hope in our hearts that we can have enough strength to continue fighting. This pandemic may have cancelled so many things in our lives but our fight against it… our determination, our hope and our strength are never cancelled,” Treñas said.
He also highlighted programs being undertaken or done by the city government as well as its other proposed projects:
* Uswag Skills Enhancement and Training Program – 501 graduates
* fingerlings dispersal at the Iloilo River – 13,411 and another 900 (tilapia) through JPT Ediscape Fish Culture
* 180 COVID-19 barangay based operations centers
* trashcans on streets – 380 trash bins installed in public spaces and sidewalks
* waiting sheds – 30 units of shelter at the Benigno S. Avenue in partnership with Megaworld Corp.
* local chief executive meetings
* free swab testing for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), returning residents and frontliners (as of July 12, 2021)
* quarantine facilities – 19 COVID quarantine facilities with 994 bed capacity
* beautification pots
* feeding pipes for stray dogs – Team Rescue Iloilo coordinated with the city government, and partnered business establishments to launch a project for stray dogs. They have placed feeding stations in different areas in the metro.
* vaccine for polio, measles and rubella – From Feb. to April 2021, a total of 30,760 children (81.7 percent) were vaccinated with measles and rubella (MR) and 35,646 (81.0 percent) were vaccinated with the polio vaccine.
* children immunization/FIC (fully immunized child) – For the first quarter of the year, Iloilo City has a total of 1,645 children vaccinated (19.51 percent).
* tree park network, beach forest and mangrove eco-park
* Iloilo City Action and Response (ICARE) Command Center
* redevelopment of district plazas and markets
* mural art
* city beautification
* 2,000-square meter, level 2-ready Uswag Iloilo City Hospital
* bike racks
* vaccines for all
* vaccination sites
* house to house registration and vaccination
* COVID-19 vaccination – 22.16 percent of the population vaccinated as of July 12, 2021
* busking – 80 displaced artists supported during the “busking” project of the city
* “Art in the Park” – 36 participants in two sessions held at the Iloilo Esplanade and Iloilo Freedom Grandstand
* P1.2 million assistance to victims of disaster (135 families)
* Iloilo City Sports Academy flagship program of the Iloilo City Sports Development Division
* turnover of two dragon boats to the Iloilo Paddlers Club and Paddling Clinic
AWARDS
Iloilo City was conferred with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ (ASEAN) Clean Tourist City Award 2020-2022.
Iloilo City was also the only LGU in the Visayas to be awarded the Special Recognition in the Most Business-Friendly LGUs outside of Metro Manila during the concluding ceremony of the 46th Philippine Business Conference organized by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Oct. 8, 2020.
The written piece, City of Love’s Ilonggo Pandesal, by Leonard Pineda I of Philippine Information Agency (PIA) Regional Office 6 won the Best Feature Story by PIA Praise Awards 2020.
The city government’s Public Information Office and their “2019 YearEnder and KaUswagan” publication were included in list of winners in the Search for Best Performing Information Office and Best Agency Publications by the PIA on Dec. 17, 2020.
The Lupong Tagapamayapa of Barangay Calumpang, Molo district was adjudged as the 2021 Lupong Tagapamayapa Incentives Awards (LTIA) Regional Winner for Highly Urbanized Cities (HUC) Category./PN
