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Vice President Sara Duterte underscored the key role that city and municipal mayors play in the Philippines’ development and sustainable growth.
Vice President Sara Duterte speaks during the Mindanao League of Municipalities meeting in Davao City on Saturday, June 10, 2023. (OVP photo)
The official made this remark as a guest speaker during the Mindanao League of Municipalities meeting in Davao City.
“I can really say that the mayors are the secret to development because they are directly connected to the people. That is why they know firsthand what are the needs in their respective communities,” Duterte, who was city mayor before becoming vice president, said in Visayan.
“Ang susi talaga ng tuloy-tuloy na kaunlaran ng ating bansa ay ang kagalingan, kahusayan at kaalaman ng ating mga mayors (The key really to continuous progress of our country is the merit, excellence, and knowledge of our mayors),” she added.
She thanked the local chief executives for their commitment and participation to the development agenda of the Marcos administration.
“Let us remain true to the call of public service as we ensure our communities’ progress and carry on with the task of nation-building with the utmost integrity and democratic accountability,” Duterte said.
“Let’s be enthusiastic in our desire to create a country for children and children who will serve our country in the future,” she added in Visayan.
During her 31-minute message, the Vice President emphasized that the Office of the Vice President (OVP) is also fully committed to the national development targets of the Marcos administration and its plans to achieve a sustainable life for all Filipinos.
Her office stands ready to support the Marcos administration’s eight-point socioeconomic agenda, which aims to improve food security, transportation, health care, education, and social services, as well as lower energy prices, follow sound fiscal management, and improve bureaucratic efficiency.
Meanwhile, Duterte also shared about her office’s programs and projects that aim to uplift the lives of Filipinos.
She talked about how the OVP spearheaded the establishment of satellite offices in Davao, Zamboanga, Cotabato, Tandag, Cebu, Bacolod, Tacloban, Isabela, and Dagupan to make the OVP Central Office’s programs more accessible to Filipinos.
There are also now two Public Assistance Division (PAD) Extension Offices, in Lipa, Batangas and in Tondo, Manila.
Groundworks for establishing another satellite office in Region 5 have already started in hopes to serve the Bicolanos.
“We did this because when we entered the OVP, we saw that the entirety of the medical and burial assistance programs were centered only on the National Capital Region,” Duterte said in Visayan.
Since the country is prone to natural disasters like typhoons, the Vice President also established the OVP Disaster Operations Center (OVP-DOC) since calamity aid is one of the most requested assistance.
Aside from providing assistance, the OVP-DOC also aims to strengthen disaster preparedness and emergency response through immediate and efficient relief operations.
Other programs by the OVP are aimed at helping the marginalized sector.
Chief among these is the OVP’s Mag Negosyo Ta ‘Day (MTD) project, a program she initiated when she was Davao City mayor.
MTD helps women and members of the LGBTQI+ by augmenting their daily income. — Raymund Antonio
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Credit belongs to : www.mb.com.ph
