NCR's 'ProbinSyudad' holds 424th Anniversary

MANILA, Philippines - Taguig city celebrates its 424th foundation day this week with a series of activities in every barangay, and for almost every sector of the community, especially the youth, the women, the elderly and the business sector.

The city, now under the 29-yearold Mayor Lani Cayetano, plans to mark the celebration with a fl ashback of the historic past, proud heritage, and positive virtues, and the comfort brought about by developments in the Bonifacio Global City – now the emerging business capital of the Philippines.

Mayor Cayetano takes pride in calling the city a “ProbinSyudad” because it is the only remaining city in Metro Manila which has the amenities of a highly urbanized city, yet has the feel and relaxing atmosphere of a province plus its people exude the values and magandang asal of the probinsyano, what with its more than 10 kilometers of lakeshore, with farmers, fi shermen, old churches, a historic lighthouse, and with people whose virtue of pagtutulungan is still very much alive.

No wonder, the young mayor’s slogan is “I Love Taguig” – and she has every reason, and every Taguigeno to love the city, not only for what it has now become but for what the young mayor envisions it to be.

Historic past, proud heritage, and tourism It was in 1587 when Taguig was established as a pueblo within the Spanish province of Manila. The name Taguig was actually derived from the term taga-giik, or taga-gapas ng palay as Taguig was originally a vast farmland and a fi shing community.

“To this day,” the mayor said, “Taguig still has around 100 principled farmers who would not trade their lands and their source of livelihood, and much more number of fishermen in its Laguna Lake side of the city.”

“We have a very rich history —we have 400-year-old church, or almost as old as our city, we have a historic parola which Andres Bonifacio and his Katipuneros frequented when they were planning their actions against the Spaniards, we have a network of underground passages which undoubtedly played crucial roles during the war.” Fittingly perhaps, “it is home to the Libingan ng mga Bayani and the American Cemetery.”

“Taguig also has a rich religious heritage. It is a home to a four centuries old Catholic Church (St. Anne), the beautiful Dambanang Kawayan Church, the birthplace of

Iglesia ni Cristo’s founder, it has an old Aglipayan church, it is home to the beautiful Blue Mosque and has active but very diverse Christian groups. We are home to the wellknown Tipas Hopia, and the delicious Inutak,” said the Mayor. She said that with an increasing number of migrants to the city and the absence of any tourism program in the past administrations to develop a proper appreciation and pride to the city’s heritage, many Taguigenos are unaware that they have much to be proud of in their city. “By God’s grace, that will change under my administration,” Mayor Cayetano said.

“Studies will show that developing tourism sites do not only instill pride in the people, it is also considered a fast and effective way of generating decent employment and livelihood opportunities. The past administration did not bring in a single centavo from tourism. That has to change under a new tourism body I am forming,” said the mayor.

No need to travel far to relax and enjoy “The city is blessed with more than 10 kilometers of lakeshore. It has a scenic view of the lake, and a relaxing breeze especially in late afternoons and evenings. We now have plans and designs to develop bike lanes, jogging paths, floating restaurants, viewing decks, family picnic and a fishing area, world class public parks, and a water sports facility, and the Bonifacio Global City is only around 10 minutes away. If we have all that in the lakeshore, who needs to travel far to dine, relax and enjoy?” Mayor Cayetano proudly said.

“My plans for the lakeshore will make Global City even more attractive, and by God’s grace, it can generate so much employment and sources of livelihood for the city,” she added.

Increasing migrants Mayor Cayetano notes that in one of the recent surveys, it was found that there are now more migrants to Taguig than the original Taguigenos. She believes that the mix of the new Taguigenos and the old families of the native Taguigenos are good for the city. Like her, who grew up in Albay and Bulacan,

having a Bicolana mother and a Bulakeño, father but married to a Cayetano of Taguig and Pateros. The mix produced a rich appreciation of original Taguig culture and heritage while appreciating values and culture of the different provinces now represented and living in Taguig.

“I have seen much of the hidden beauty of Taguig, and the potential for development where all can benefit, not only the rich. I also believe that development must not only beconfi ned in The Fort, but in every part of the city,” the mayor added.

She said that she is truly grateful to God and to the people of Taguig for the trust and confi dence that they gave her when she won first as congresswoman in 2007 at age

25, and as mayor in 2010 at age 28. “Susulitin ko ang kanilang pagtitiwala sa pamamagitan ng tapat na paglilingkod, mas maayos na pagseserbisyo, at pag-asenso para sa lahat di lamang sa iilan,” the mayor stated.

She said that one way of harnessing the opportunities presented by an increasing number of city migrants, is to encourage and support them to put up restaurants in the lakeshore area, as well as other areas that will also be developed offering, say, genuine laing, Bicol express and pinangat from the Bicolanos, and bagnet for the Ilocanos. “Maharlika Village,” she said, “being comprised mostly of Muslims, can put up a quality and reliable source of halal food.”

Investing in education and health “During the campaign one of our slogans was, ‘Mas mahalaga ang tao kaysa basura,’ so when I became Mayor, we bidded garbage collection and saved more than P6 million a month and this year cut P100 million from the garbage/intergrated environment budget. That savings from garbage were all allotted for scholarships in the 2011 budget, from the meager P5 million of the past administration to 100 million just for college scholarships.”

“We also more than doubled the budget of the Taguig City University from less than P50 million in 2010 to around P125 million this 2011.”

“We are also extending financial assistance to the Technological University of the Philippines-Taguig and the Polytechnic University of the Philippines-Taguig to improve quality and access. In fact, if we add the Local School Board (LSB) budget

this year, the city will spend a total of more than P800 million for education alone,” the mayor said.

“To care for the health needs of the people, we have allocated P75 million from P28 million last year, and the budget of the City Health Office and the Taguig Pateros District Hospital will amount to more than P200 million this year.” The mayor added, “Among the priorities now is to renovate the current emergency and operating rooms of the hospital to something similar to that of St. Luke’s Global City.”

“Iskolar ng Bayan” Program Taguigenos can enjoy free education in the much improved Taguig City University. Educational assistance will be offered in other colleges and universities like PUP and TUP. “Starting this coming school year,” Mayor Cayetano said, “we will have an Iskolar ng Bayan Program for Taguigenos who are studying in the University of the Philippines by paying for their tuition and/or giving them living allowance.” “The theme for this program, ‘Iskolar ng Bayan Puhunan Para Sa Kinabukasan,’ is founded on the belief that we need to invest in the quality education of our youth so we can build a brighter future for our city. UP education guarantees that at a relatively affordable rate.” Graduates of this program can either choose to work in Taguig City for a number of years, or support another Taguigeno under the program. The mayor believes that in this manner, the city can someday have better trained engineers, doctors, lawyers, scientists, and other professionals.

Business-friendly system Mayor Lani is grateful to business and investors, and the taxpayers at large who are the lifeblood of the City Treasury. It is for this reason that among the fi rst programs her administration started immediately when she assumed office was the Taguig Tracking Device System (TTDS).

After several workshops and consultations in each and every office and department of the city government, as well as consultations with the business sector, the TTDS was set up wherein transactions will not be accepted at the first counter unless it has all the necessary documents. For those that are complete, it will go through smoothly in every office as each station has a specific time allocation to act on the transaction otherwise the system will send out an alert for delayed processing. The mayor is included in the TTDS, thus she too has to act on the transaction with a certain limited time allocation. The system will also send out an alert if the papers get delayed in her station.

The mayor said, “Putting up the system is meant to eradicate red tape and below-the-table transactions. It is meant to reduce discretion and in the system, I would like to show to the people that I am truly sincere in implementing this reform.” The TTDS tracks a document or transaction online from start to finish – a system that was borrowed from, and tested to be effective, in Malaybalay City, and now being improved, with programs added, to be used for the first time by an NCR highly urbanized city.

As part of being business-friendly and to recognize the important role of the business sector, the Top significantly reduce areas of corruption. But by including myself Taxpayers of the City will be recognized during the Mayor’s Night

Celebration – one of the many events in the 424th Foundation Day Anniversary of the city.

Responsive service delivery the Cayetano administration also launched the Taguig City Integrated Survey System (TCISS) to find the real condition and needs of every resident of the city by having a thorough house to house census. The TCISS, which is comprised of around 300 questions, was divided into three tranches of around 100 questions each. The first trance has already been completed, and the processing of data is now nearing 80 percent. The mayor said, “The TCISS is very helpful.

Even from the partial data so far produced we already know who, where and how many needs wheelchairs, do not know their blood type, or are yet to get their birth certificate, those sick with diabetes, asthma, or other health conditions. In response to those data, we have delivered a number of free wheelchairs already to the doorstep of the residents, and we are to distribute another 80 or so wheelchairs this coming week.

A few months back, we also distributed two weeks worth of medicine to those found with various illnesses but do not have the means to buy medicine. Initially, many would not want to entertain our field interviewers, but when they found out the benefits received by those who do, people became very cooperative,” the mayor said.

Because of the fi ndings of TCISS, the city government also found out the actual name, number and whereabouts of senior citizens, thus the mayor has also prepared a great activity for them during this 424th anniversary celebration.

Clear vision, sincere intention, and people’s cooperation Mayor Lani Cayetano may be young and inexperienced. She may not even be a native of the city she now governs, and her political adversaries may be unwavering in their efforts to distract her from serving the people. But the past eight months were a testament to God’s grace upon her and her tenacity. Despite the state of the city government she inherited, and the enormous and various odds she has to go through each day, she has remained steadfast.

Her noble and clear vision for the city, and her sincere intention to offer peace and reconciliation to those who ran against her have bore fruit. Now she has the support of the majority of the City Council, the barangay captains, and the most of the employees previously allied and loyal to the previous mayor.

“Ako ay lubos na nagpapasalamat sa Diyos, sa ating mga konsehal at kapitan, sa ating mga guro at mga kawani ng pamahalaang lungsod, at sa mga Taguigeno na patuloy akong minamahal at sinusuportahan.”

“Sa ating pagdiriwang ng Anibersaryo ng Taguig, tayo ay magkaisa at magtulungan, at ako ay naniniwala na tayo ay pagpapalain ng tagumpay ng Poong Maykapal.”

As the city of Taguig celebrates its 424th Foundation Day this weekend, it stands as the country’s premiere place to live in and do business at. More than four centuries in the making, its present contemporary success is deeply rooted in the resilience of a people who has embraced the value of hard work and perseverance, as badges of honor throughout the city’s existence. The ProbinSyudad and its Tiger Mayor, a people and its leader who believe in prayer and faith in God, hard work and perseverance, virtues of magandang asal and the benefi ts of technology! Taguig, Metro Manila’s ProbinSyudad.