DNL’s Speech during the 40th Charter
Day Celebration of the City of Tagbilaran at the City Hall
Atrium held last July 3, 2006.
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| ``To The Future With A
Vision`` |
It is my privilege to welcome all of you on the occasion
of our 40th charter day celebration. On July 1, 1966,
Tagbilaran City was born because our elders had a vision
to transform what was then Bohol’s most prominent town
into a city that would be the jewel of this island
province.
During the preparation for this celebration, I asked
myself this question: how long will I speak? Since we are
celebrating 40 years, the choice is whether I speak for 40
minutes or read from a script that is 40 pages long.
Either way, I hope you will bear with me.
By this time, most if not all of you are aware not only of
the road map of the city government but more importantly
the steps taken in that direction. Two years is enough for
people to know whether to give their leaders an “A” in
planning and an “F” in execution.
So far, your city government prefers chess. “C” for our
children, “H” for health programs, “E” for our elderly,
the first “S” security and the second “S” is sports
development and the Sandugo.
The city government agrees with George Benson who wrote
the hit song “the greatest love of all”. He said, and I
quote, “I believe the children are our future. Teach them
well and let them lead the way.”
We agree. Because the children are our future, we are
giving all 9,930 of them the right preparation today. Our
support of free school uniforms including shoes, bags,
notebooks, paper, pens and pencils may not mean much to
those who can afford them but it means the world to those
who had not experienced how it is to wear brand new
clothes and shoes before we gave them out.
Allow me to express my official and personal gratitude to
Manila Mayor Lito Atienza, our Big Brother Awardee, who
donated 9,000 school bags last year and who made a similar
donation this year.
More than the gifts, it is the message of love and
concern. Through this, the installation of two ceiling
fans in each of the 272 institutional rooms and as many
comfort rooms as we can, we are telling them that they are
special and that we are doing our best to give them the
right learning atmosphere.
It should be clear however that in return for all the
support, we expect quality results. We will expect
teachers to monitor the bottom 20% of the class.
They should determine the reasons for the dismal
performance and address these factors so the children can
be competitive with the rest of the class.
This is also the reason why we are implementing the
multiple intelligence method in all of our pre-school day
care centers. After completing two weeks of training, new
teachers will start reporting on July 4 equipped with
scientific tools. We love our children and we are
expressing our love through these initiatives.
We have also committed to the scholarships for graduates
of the Cogon Night High School at the Central Visayas
State College of Agriculture, Forestry and Technology. At
the same time, we have opened a high school in Barangay
San Isidro to meet the growing population.
To show our appreciation to the Tagbilaran Science High
School students for their performance when they ranked
third nationwide, we will install air-conditioned units in
all classrooms so the learning atmosphere will be more
conducive. We are working for the acquisition of the
adjoining lots as part our expansion plans. This is in
addition the computers that will be given as committed.
Our health program is anchored on the Blue Card project
which offers free hospitalization to indigent patients
seeking treatment in our government hospital. As we have
repeatedly declared, we will not allow any constituent of
Tagbilaran to be refused admission at the government
hospital simply because he or she is poor.
I have ordered the issuance of temporary blue cards to all
qualified beneficiaries after they are screened by the
DSWD, City Health Office, DILG and Office of the Mayor.
These cards will be good for six months and will be
replaced by permanent cards later.
We are on the threshold of implementing the Botika sa
Katawhan which will have philantrophist, civic leader and
of course my Deputy Mayor Mario Uy, whom we are honoring
today, as program administrator. Like the Blue Card, it is
our dream to provide free medicine to indigents based on
the prescription of volunteer doctors.
The Botika sa Katawhan is a brainchild of Deputy Mayor
Mario Uy who has been responsible for many successful
charity programs. We are optimistic that the People’s
Pharmacy, the first of its kind in the entire country,
will truly serve the poor where they need it most.
We have scheduled the blessing of the office of the Botika
on July 22 but the Botika itself will be operational
either on the last week of this month of by the first week
of August.
To attend to minor ailments, regular free clinics are
being conducted in partnership with the private sector.
More importantly, the city will host a major medical
mission from Kansas City in November.
We want to cover both the major and minor health problems
because we believe that a community can never really hope
to grow unless its citizens are physically fit.
Oscar Wilde once noted that children begin by loving their
parents. After a time they judge them and rarely forgive
them. Tagbilaran will not commit that mistake.
We offer our appreciation to our parents and senior
citizens in the recreational programs designed to bring
them joy in the sunset of their lives.
Security comes from the thought that measures have been
taken to contain criminals and criminality. Security
however does not come in free. We are giving our policemen
all the support that we can afford. The city will provide
motorcycles, jeeps and other vehicles, pistols and
cellular phones so they can perform their functions
better.
In addition to that, we have mobilized our Barangay Tanods
not only to help secure our neighborhoods but also in
traffic duties. Together with the police, they will
install checkpoints at designated spots to prevent and
deal with criminal activities.
You and I know that even this is insufficient. This is the
reason why we are calling on responsible citizens to join
the efforts to rid our neighborhoods of crime particularly
illegal drugs by relaying information to us on the
presence of suspicious people and unusual activities.
So far, we have been successful as our law enforcers have
neutralized illegal drug distribution in the city and
solved most of the crimes committed in the neighborhood
including snatchings and petty crimes. For this, we credit
Chief Insp. Jacinto Arazo Cesar and his men along with the
Association of Barangay Captains led by ABC President
Alberta Torralba.
To be forearmed is to be forewarned. This explains the
efforts of our distinguish City Consultant Hans Schoof,
also an awardee as patron of the city, to forewarned. Due
to his efforts, we distributed fire fighting equipment
even before any major conflagration can hit the city.
Hans is the chairman of the Gear Up foundation (Phils.)
which is committed to the improvement of the reaction
capabilities and equipment of our fire-fighting units. He
is also a pioneer of the Knights of Rizal and was
responsible for the recognition of the local chapter as
the most active in the country today.
One of the deterrents to crime is sports development. For
this reason, we invested in the promotion of emerging
boxing gladiators Ray “Boom-Boom” Bautista and Caesar
Augustus Amonsot whom we are honoring today. Amonsot won
by unanimous decision in the undercard of Manny Pacquiao’s
fight yesterday. Boom Boom was also set to fight but he
fell ill and his fight was cancelled. I understand that
the two of them will be fighting again this September in
the US.
On my own personal capacity, i am supporting the studies
of chess prodigy Jedara Docena, another awardee today. The
national champion in the age 14 and under division, she
will leave for an international tournament in Russia this
October.
However, they are more of the exceptions than the rule.
This is the reason why Tagbilaran is grateful to sportsman
Antonio Aldeguer, whom we are also honoring today, for his
commitment to develop amateur boxing. He has not only
invested in a training gym in Taloto but also his stake on
the amateur boxing program that promises to make
Tagbilaran a boxing mecca in the future.
Just recently, Tagbilaran regained the over-all
championship of the inter-cities tournament in the Visayas
by winning five out of six titles in Maasin. Our amateur
boxers also won a gold and a silver in a tournament in
Tubod, Lanao del Norte.
Despite bureaucratic hitches, Tagbilaran is fully
committed to the Sandugo 2006 celebration. We intend to
make it the most lively and successful street dancing
event in the history of Sandugo. Along with the
reenactment of the historic blood compact between Sikatuna
and Legazpi, Tagbilaran is contributing to the historical
and cultural awareness of children and youths.
We are pouring a P1-million into this year’s reenactment
under the direction of Gardy Labad. This will be the most
elaborate reenactment ever in the history of the Sandugo.
Hopefully, this will reaffirm Tagbilaran’s commitment to
historical and cultural development. It will also be a
major activity of this year’s Tigum Bol-anon Tibuok
Kalibutan.
Of course, it is not just a life of chess for the city
government. Your city hall family continues to work to be
lean and mean bureaucracy, rightsizing the organization
while upgrading services with a computerization program
relevant to the times.
So far, your public servants have been performing
according to expectations. For this reason, we are giving
out incentives to our city employees, members of the PNP,
barangay officials, those in the department of education,
among others.
Since the start, we admitted that the City Government
cannot do it alone. Much of the credit in the formulation
of the city’s road map goes to the executive legislative
agenda which turned on the key to the smooth relationship
prevailing in city hall. Our partnership with civil
society is also the key to the acceptance and successful
implementation of most of our development plans.
Like many things in this life, you cannot have it all. The
comprehensive road network that we have envisioned still
has to go through a fine-tooth comb. We want to be careful
especially in the land acquisition aspect.
As I had also announced several months back, the plan for
the construction of the Big Bug Sports Complex has taken a
back seat to the road network project. To build the former
before the latter is like putting the cart before the
horse.
Another project that has been reverted to the drawing
board is the mothballed Agora project. We have requested a
team of expert structural engineers to evaluate the
project and come out with a recommendation on whether to
salvage whatever is left of it or demolish it so the new
building can conform to standards needed for the
commercial complex preferred by 49% of city residents.
We also need to implement the law covering the Zoning
Ordinance, building and licensing permits if we want this
city to live up to its billing as one of the country’s
most livable cities.
Of course, we also could not close our eyes to the
uncertainty of our national political and economic
situation. As a wound in the head is life-threatening, a
major crisis in the capital will have adverse effect on
our city.
I have always believed that we cannot expect positive
change to begin from the national level. It has to begin
from the bottom, it has to start with us. We have to make
do with what we have to change what we can right where we
are. As it is with mathematics, so it is with real life –
let us reduce our concerns to the lowest terms.
Many people point out the obvious – we do not have major
industries that will spur the economy. Aside from the
remittances of OFWs, they say all we have is a growing
tourist industry. I beg to disagree.
The future has much to offer for those who have a vision.
There may be those who are wondering why we are honoring
Lawyer Edilberto Gallares and businessman Marlito Uy. The
reason for this is the invaluable contribution they have
given to the direction of the city’s development. Through
the benevolence of Atty. Gallares whose family owned most
of the land in what is now the Dao-Dampas growth area and
the Alturas Group of Companies’ sizable investment in the
island city mall, the city’s development would have been
limited in the downtown area. Without their vision and
resolve to transform what is now the satellite city, it
would still remain as a cogon field.
Tagbilaran’s biggest resources are its people –
God-fearing, law-abiding, hard-working and unassuming.
They have the tools to make it to the next level. With a
deeper faith in God and resolute belief in themselves,
Tagbilaranons see only a bright future. It is looking at
the future with a vision.
There is nothing we can do about the past, little about
the present but much about the future. I would like to
believe that we have learned our lessons well. We are
moving in the right direction.
I feel proud to stand alongside the pillars of the city,
heirs of the late Venancio Inting, former Mayors Rolando
Butalid, Jose Ma. Rocha and Jose Torralba. For them to be
here today, along with all the honorees and the nameless,
faceless citizens without whose contributions the city
would not have grown, shows that Tagbilaranons are willing
and ready to cast aside political and personal differences
in pursuit of common good.
I have always believed in a healing administration,
inspired by the spirit of the song entitled “One Family,
One City”. We may disagree on what constitutes progress,
how and when that progress may be achieved. But that
should not prevent us from working from a basis of unity
that is the greater good for the greatest number.
People who make a difference are people who know the
meaning of four words put together: “It can be done”.
Because he believed that it can be done, Lim Tieng Su or
Cia Lim transformed a fledging store into a business
empire.
Because he saw what lies ahead, Ong Guat sowed the seeds
for what would become the Bohol Quality Group of
Companies. Through his vision, National Artist Napoleon
Abueva will assure future generations of a link to the
past by his sculptures on the busts of our City Mayors and
national hero Jose Rizal. And because of his vision,
National Artist and Architect Ildefonso Santos knows
exactly how the city hall grounds will look in the future
when the landscaping work is completed.
As George Bernard Shaw once noted, “you see things, and
you say “why?”. But I dream things that never were; and I
say “why not?”
We know the future holds many challenges. But the people
of Tagbilaran are equal to the task. This is a city that
has produced the likes of Generals Carlos Holganza and
Albert Olario, men who put their toughness to good use and
on the side of the law.
Over and above all these however, the Tagbilaranons are a
praying people. If you doubt that, you are not aware that
Tagbilaran has produced the first Asian Superior General
of a world religious order in Superior General Antonio
Pernia, SVD. Indeed, when people pray, God listens. And
when God listens, He responds.
Despite the scorn of the cynics and the skeptics, the
outlook is not all gloomy. In a world where most people
are selfish, materialistic and greedy, notable exceptions
come now and then.
One such beacon of light in a time of darkness is
businessman philanthropist Warren Buffet. The world’s
second wealthiest man signed over nearly $31 billion of
his company stock to the Bill and Melinda Gates
Foundation. This represent nearly 80% of his total net
worth of $44 billion.
This is undoubtedly the biggest donation ever given to
charity work and redefines the boundaries of hope in a
time and world where greed has become the mantra of the
rich. In explaining his donation, Buffet said those whom
global capitalism has made rich should help the world’s
less fortunate. “We really owe it to society to give it
back,” Buffet said to explain his mind-blowing donation.
While our businessmen and the wealthy among us can never
expect to be anywhere near the neighborhood of Buffet’s
$44-billion dollar fortune, they can pick up from his
example by sharing some of their resources with the city.
Around us are charity cases who have no one else to look
up to. A little help can go a long way in their lives.
The challenge that lies before us today is whether to give
in to despair or not. Those who give up live lives of
quiet desperation go from one day to another merely to
feed the body while starving the spirit and the soul.
But those who refuse to give up have a lot of life left in
them not because they will stumble upon the future by
accident but because they create opportunities to get
there. In a manner of speaking, they work hard to be
lucky.
There is a difference between sight and vision. Sight is
good only for as long as the eyes are effective. Vision
however sees beyond what the eyes can see. People who use
their sight see several meters ahead. Those who use their
vision see what the future holds for them.
Several decades ago, people visiting Orlando, Florida saw
only the swamps, the snakes, the grasses and everything
that resembled a safari destination. But when Walt Disney
went there, he had a vision of Disneyland.
Those who stopped only with what the eyes can see will
miss the opportunities of growth and greatness that only
those who entertain visions can see.
Today, we see not just the freebies for our children and
medical care for the sick. We envision a city where people
will always take precedence over infrastructure, where
human development takes priority over structures.
The future is exciting in The Little City With Big Dreams
because people with a vision see ahead of their time. We
are looking to the future with a vision because this is
the only way to do it. As Proverbs 29:18 warns, where
there is no vision, the people perish.
Not everybody will agree with what we are doing and with
us. I have no problem with that. While we are not moving
as fast as we wanted, there is little doubt that we are
moving faster than other local government units.
Proof of this are the citations received by the city from
the Institute Solidarity for Asia which declared
Tagbilaran one of the eight Philippine Dream Cities and
the and the Asian Institute of Management Policy Center
which chose Tagbilaran as one of the Philippines’ most
competitive cities and Pinoy cities on the rise.
However, to me the most important vote of confidence was
the 75% rating given by the people of Tagbilaran in a
survey conducted by the Holy Name University last March.
With that kind of trust and confidence, I have all the
inspiration that I need to work harder and aim higher.
Today, the question that every Tagbilaranon must answer is
whether we want to see a better future. If the answer is
yes, then we need to do two things: we ask for God’s
blessings and then believe that we can do it.
The circumstances around us are no match to the desire
that is within us. Today, we are on the way to the future
with a vision and a cause. The Little City With Big Dreams
is on its way.
With God’s blessings, with our unity and the willingness
to do whatever it takes, I promise you, we will get there.
Together let us make it to the future. Mabuhi ang
Tagbilaran! |
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