Mayor Along’s brand of public service in full display in the celebration of Caloocan’s 63rd Cityhood Anniversary
MANILA, Philippines — Throughout his years in public service, Caloocan City Mayor Dale Gonzalo “Along” Malapitan’s brand of leadership has always been about integrating action and compassion into the programs and policies that he undertakes for the welfare of Batang Kankaloos. Now, as the local chief executive of one of Metro Manila’s biggest cities and one of its fastest-growing economies, he takes this mantra from being a mere campaign slogan into a full-fledged motto for the whole city government.
“Aksyon at Malasakit” is now being fully reflected in the celebration of Caloocan City’s 63rd Anniversary, wherein Mayor Along’s primary priority has been providing the topnotch services the city government has to offer and creating more opportunities for Caloocan residents to not just earn a living but to thrive and improve their lives.
“In every year that we celebrate the cityhood anniversary, we think of ways to make our people really feel the improvements that our administration has brought to the table,” he said.
Among the lineup of programs and activities are the two Mega Job Fairs to be conducted in both Caloocan City—North and South on February 20 and 28, respectively, which will aim to provide almost 16,000 employment opportunities here and abroad to resident jobseekers.
More than 130 partner companies will participate in the said job fairs, from industries such as wholesale and retail, business process outsourcing (BPO), construction, manufacturing, and hospitality management.
The conduct of the said job fairs has become one of the consistent and staple projects of the city government under the leadership of Mayor Along, wherein multiple fairs are conducted in each year to ensure that fresh job opportunities are available to the public.
Meanwhile, the Grand Bazaar, held in between the city’s People’s Park and Ziti Center and aptly named as JuanapBuhay Love ALONG Kankaloo, was kickstarted on February 3.
It will feature and support over 40 nano, micro, small and medium businesses and cooperatives until the end of the month.
Persons with disabilities (PWDs) and Persons Deprived of Liberty (PDLs) are likewise supported by the city government by being provided with their respective slots in the bazaar, wherein they offer free massage to visiting customers as well as their own livelihood products.
This is not the first time that members of vulnerable sectors were given priority by the city government in terms of program implementation and policy-making.
The Caloocan City Manpower Training Center (CCMTC) regularly conducts free training courses for PWDs and the elderly, and with the recent partnership between McDonald's Philippines and the city government, senior citizens who are still willing to work are given job opportunities in select branches of the popular fast-food chain in the city.
Seniors likewise receive cash and gift packages from the city on their birthday, in addition to being beneficiaries of the weekly free cinema, in partnership with local malls.
“With our administration, we have endeavored to ensure that everyone, regardless of social stature, gender, age, or even political color, will have an opportunity to earn an honest living and have the ability to improve their family’s lives through their own abilities,” the local chief executive said.
Through the livelihood and employment programs, in addition to the economic policies implemented by the administration, the City of Caloocan has transformed into a space where every opportunity for growth is made available for its constituents.
Such growth has been consistently highlighted by multiple commendations from both the national government and the private sector, including the being among the Most Business-Friendly Cities, Top 8 among Highly-Urbanized Cities in Yearly Economic Growth, and Number One Disaster Response programs in the country.
To top it all off, the city has also recently received its 8th Seal of Good Local Governance from the Department of the Interior and Local Government for its excellent policies in fiscal management, social development, health and education, becoming one of the only two local government units in the whole country to have done so.
For Mayor Along, the only thing to do now is to make sure that the city's progress remains on an upward trend for years to come, inspiring him and his fellow public servants to further commit to improving the lives of every Batang Kankaloo.
“Gone are the days when the city government implements only one-time, big-time projects. What we have done is to create holistic programs which will help out people in the long term,” Mayor Along expressed.
“I think remembering our roots and celebrating our Cityhood Anniversary is as special as it gets, but I also want to emphasize that we have to make this commitment to public service every single day,” he declared.
Editor’s Note: This press release for Caloocan City Government is not covered by Philstar.com's editorial guidelines.
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