By Leonardo  Micua

 

KUDOS to Dagupan City for being the seventh of only nine cities in the Philippines and among the 1,000 best cities in the world in the Oxford Economies Global Cities Index.

Ditto to Mayor Belen Fernandez and the people of Dagupan City (except the seven daw) who made this impossible dream possible.

These nine cities in PH that made it to Oxford’s exclusive list are a toast in the League of Cities of the Philippines.

Imagine, among 55 Southeast Asian cities that are a part of that Oxford list, Dagupan, which is virtually unheard of in SEA and the world over, was in the 30th place.

Many other bigger and richer cities are not included but Dagupan, which is only less than 50 square kilometers in land area and has a dense population of 180,000, barged into this list.

And this happened under Belen’s watch at a crucial moment in history when at every turn of her administration, seven councilors were there to obstruct, invoking always their unparliamentary “prerogatives”.

No other mayors in the past succeeded in having their city bestowed with worldwide recognition, except Mayor Belen. For this, she’s considered our Dagupan’s wonder mayor, a wonder woman, or what you can call a cut above the rest.

Belen belongs to a sterner stuff than her heartless critics and tormentors combined.

Despite the uncooperative majority in the city council, she worked her way so that she could deliver the vital services urgently needed by her constituents in their difficult and trying times and improve their quality of life, as well as the situation in the city.

That must be the reason for the international recognition given by Oxford when it included Dagupan in its 2024 Global Cities Index.

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Late Tuesday afternoon, I tip-toed my way to the old city hall down a cemented pathway that took the place of old inter-connected wooden footbridges for employees to step on without getting their shoes wet when they report for work. 

On my way up an old wooden stairway that stood the test of time and in my calculation could no longer stay any longer, I noticed that there were no more offices on the first floor of the old city hall.

Once bubbling with life, the place that used to be occupied by the treasury office and other offices, where my wife and I paid our land taxes, is now an almost eerie place with not even a single light on.

Not even dusted off and its cobwebs removed, it was a scene that suggested that the place had been long vacated or abandoned and many, including myself, left wondering where those offices are located now.

The transfer of these offices had something to do with the flood that comes to Dagupan almost daily even when it is not raining hard.

The transfer of these offices became more urgent with the construction of a three-story new city hall right in front of the old one which according to Mayor Belen, can accommodate only eight to nine of the total 46 offices of the Dagupan City government.

There was no work at the construction site when I went to the city hall. I heard that work on the project by contractor, R.A. Matias Construction Corporation, had long stopped and many don’t know when it will resume its construction. 

As to the old city hall’s preservation or demolition, it hinges on the long awaited opinion of the National Historical Commission since it was built in 1925 by the grandfather of former Speaker Jose de Venecia, Jr. and, was already declared a historical heritage. I’m told, it is the only one of its kind still being used today in PH in the absence of a new one.

Belen attempted to build a new one in Pantal but she lost her reelection bid and her successor, Brian Lim, did not pursue the initiative and instead built his own in front of the old one.

Meanwhile, the second floor of the old city hall is already a blend of new and old architectural designs, but most of these are new. Its stairway is a product of an old architectural design but the flooring and ceiling underwent uplifting several times to conform to the preference of the mayor-occupant.

After that visit and an hour-long interview with Mayor Belen, I thought the old city hall must go and be replaced with a modern one that will last for at least a century. Until it is replaced, its first floor becomes a swimming pool for frogs every heavy downpour during high tide, and the situation becomes more critical when the new city hall in front is up and ready.

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