5 mayors top COVID response performers

MANILA, Philippines  — Mayors Vico Sotto of Pasig City, Joy Belmonte of Quezon City and Isko Moreno of Manila are the top performers in their response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak, according to a recent survey.

The three neophyte local chief executives topped the survey of RP-Mission and Development Foundation Inc. (RPDinc) among 3,000 respondents aged 18 to 70 from June 10 to 15.

Leading the pack is Sotto, who garnered an approval rating of 86 percent among the 177 residents in Pasig who took part in the survey.

The city government of Pasig, under Sotto’s leadership, has raised P1.2 billion for the procurement of laptops and tablets for public school teachers and students in the city.

Belmonte ranked second with an 80 percent approval rating. Among the recent accomplishments under her watch is providing temporary shelters for health care workers and alternative livelihood programs for displaced public utility vehicle drivers.

She has also orderd a crackdown and investigation on people who are behind  scheme giving out persons with disability identification cards to well-off families.

Moreno, meanwhile, ranked third with a 78 percent approval rating among Manila residents. Yesterday, he led the opening of the city’s own reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction testing center at the Sta. Ana Hospital for persons with COVID-19 symptoms.

Rounding up the top five are Mayor Marcelino Teodoro of Marikina with an approval rating of 74 percent and Valenzuela Mayor Rexlon Gatchalian with 72 percent.

“The survey was conducted with the intention to reassess the efforts done by the local government units and its officials amidst the coronavirus pandemic,” RPDinc said in a statement.

The respondents, Metro Manila residents chosen at random, were asked for their assessment of the performance of their local chief executives in terms of leadership, management and effectiveness in addressing the COVID-19 crisis.

The number of respondents per city was distributed proportionally based on official population data, according to RPDinc, which said it is a non-government organization that helps leaders make the right decisions in governance.