Mayor Fernandez vows to build new Dagupan
Mayor Belen Fernandez vowed to create a new and revitalized Dagupan to be drawn along the lines of her motto: “Pag-asa at Pagbabago“.
The new mayor spelled out her plan to make a “Balon Dagupan”, a vision shared by many Dagupeños including city officials and employees of the local government who have been clamoring for serious reforms in governance.
In her inaugural address shortly after taking her oath of office administered by Civil Service Commission Chairman Francisco Duque III, Fernandez called on the whole city to help her make “Balon Dagupan” a reality.
The new city, she said, necessitates the full development of the city’s growth centers and corridors to make the city more attractive to local and outside investors.
She cited the Lucao-Bonuan growth corridors which the past city administration failed to tap even with the presence of the Jose R. De Venecia Expressway.
She said this will widen the areas where new businesses will be situated and can be offered as locations for outside investments that may be coming in.
Hand in hand with her thrust, she articulated the need to make Dagupan more business-friendly, which would translate to a higher tax collection and jobs creation.
Among her stated priorities is to make Dagupan City drug-free, which she seeks to achieve with the help of the Philippine National Police, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, Dangerous Drugs Board, Department of Justice, Department of Health, Department of Education, the religious sector and the barangay officials.
LEARNING EXPERIENCE
She also said that her six weeks as acting mayor of Dagupan was a learning experience as it gave her the opportunity to study the situation of the city and the big problems that it faces.
In that period, she took the opportunity to do the initial planning in order to provide permanent and lasting solutions to some of the problems.
INITIATIVES
To address the garbage problem, she created a task force in charge of rehabilitating the existing nine Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs) in different parts of the city.
To keep the city’s rivers and waterways clear and clean, a Task Force on River Quality Monitoring was created to provide an early warning alert on pollution levels that affect the aquaculture industry.
To protect Bonuan Gueset to protect residents against storm surges, consultations between Fernandez and Congresswoman De Venecia for the construction of a new seawall along Sabangan.
The flood control office of the Department of Public Works and Highways is already building a Gabion-type protective wall along the Pantal River to ease flooding caused by the frequent rise of tidal water in Barangay Pantal.
Linkage with the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) has been established to ensure that the marketability and acceptance of Dagupan City bangus worldwide is assured.
Permanent linkage with the Region 1 Medical Center is being established to ensure delivery of quality medical services to indigent Dagupeños.
There will be college scholarship grants for Daguepeños to be added to the 300 started this year and the city will begin coordinating with DepEd for the production of more books, classrooms and chairs for the city’s school children.
In parting, Fernandez called on fellow officials that “Tapos na ang halalan. . .magsama-sama na po tayo para sa Dagupan“.
She also asked every one in Dagupan to join her in treading the straight path (matuwid na daan) as she reiterated her pledge that her administration will observe transparency and accountability to the fullest.
Share your Comments or Reactions
Powered by Facebook Comments
