City mayors aim to learn each other’s best practices

CEBU, Philippines —  Officials of the League of Cities of the Philippines (LCP) have showed enthusiasm for a smarter and more improved cities as they gathered yesterday of a three-day meeting at Radisson Blu in Cebu City.

Moving forward, mayors from different cities headed by their national president, Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama, shared their best practices in their respective cities ahead of the scheduled sharing session tomorrow.

Rama looks forward to sharing about public-private partnerships (PPP) to be able to make more development in their respective areas while also stressing the importance of sharing.

Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte, LCP’s executive vice president, will discuss inclusivity and empowerment as well as gender initiatives, along with climate initiatives and promotion of renewable energy, ease of doing business and social service automation.

LCP’s secretary-general, Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong, for his part, is expected to showcase the city’s digital payment system, its smart city status which had been benched-marked by other LGUs already, and how they go about being a smoke-free city with smokers only able to smoke inside their respective houses.

LCP’s women’s sector representative, Taguig City Mayor Laarni Cayetano, on the other hand, looks to sharing their educational system and comprehensive scholarship program, their center for the elderly as well as the programs it has for women and children apart from how they rose from being nobody to being a strong and resilient city.

National vice-chairperson, Pagadian City Mayor Sammy Co, also shares his administration’s latest project building a regional center for the regional and hopefully national offices for better delivery of service and communication among different offices.

Rama also told Co to share how he transformed the coastal area and the people around it.

Aside from the said officials, the rest of the mayors under LCP are also expected to share their best practices and hopefully be duplicated by others.

Rama, however, has also expressed that he wants to see more development and progress among the cities, but in all other LGUs, regardless of their status.

Rama wants to form an association among all mayors so that whatever best practices the cities have, will also have a ripple effect on others.

Should the association of mayors be realized, Rama said, the LCP stays and he would be begging off to take a position already but emphasized he is willing to help along with the rest of the members of the LCP.

With a united front among the mayors, they will also be able to carry out the plans that have been envisioned by President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio. — GMR (FREEMAN)