Belmonte: Cities are the new nations

Quezon City Mayor Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said the emergence of cities as centers of commerce and economic drivers of their respective countries has provided growing power to local governments, enabling local leaders to increase their influence in state affairs and in national breakthroughs.

“Cities are malleable habitats for life. They can be molded, guided, equipped, strengthened and fine-tuned to achieve goals like employment, innovation and growth,” he said during a symposium organized by the German Federal Intelligence Service Bundesnachrichtendienst, where he was invited as a panelist.

The invitation gave Belmonte the distinction of being the first elected Filipino official to be invited in the workshop series, which had the theme “Crisis of Governance.” About 400 Asian and European officials and experts attended the symposium.

During the occasion, Belmonte discussed the various governance strategies that he has put in place in a bid to provide a better quality of life for Quezon City residents.

Among Philippine cities, Quezon City logged the highest investment for infrastructure development, which resulted in the rise of property values. Since Belmonte assumed office in July 2001, the city’s infrastructure investments have reached P11.68 billion, with another P1.48 billion committed at the start of 2008.

Already, this investment has provided the expansion of concreting of more than 50 percent of the city’s road network, the most expansive so far in Metro Manila.

“Having the resources is critical to a local government’s ability to gain the power to lead urbanization effectively into a new economic order,” Belmonte said.

His policies have also encouraged the rise of more 24-hour city centers, even in suburban Novaliches, that have attracted business locators among information technology companies that serve global markets.

Quezon City is also the country’s first local government unit to adopt a clean development mechanism in the area of environment management, through the use of biogas emission reduction facilities that also yield revenue-generating carbon credits.