In a bid to further improve services for Dabawenyos, Davao City councilors, along with department heads of the City Government, joined the executive briefing on the state of the local governance.
The event was held at the Royal Mandaya Hotel on July 23, and was spearheaded by the Department of the Interior and Local Government – Davao City, in partnership with the City Government of Davao.
Vicky P. Sarcena, DILG-Davao City director, said that the event aims to further enhance service delivery to Dabawenyos by identifying priority issues, gaps, and challenges that needed legislative actions.
During the event, City Planning and Development Coordinator Engr. Ivan C. Cortez presented to the city’s legislators and department heads the current state of the city.
His report highlighted significant accomplishments of the city in the past three years, as well as some of the challenges and gaps that each office identified.
Some of the accomplishments included the increase in the number of households with access to basic sanitation, the city’s 93.5 percent basic literacy rate, increase in the number of free No-Scalpel Vasectomy acceptors, and the upcoming Sports Medicine Center intended for young Dabawenyo athletes.
Landmark legislations such as the Solo Parent Subsidy, free cinema for PWDs, and the ordinance on expanded centenarian incentives among others were also presented.
The discussion on the challenges and gaps in services gave way to the identification of priority projects, programs, and policies that the City Government and the City Council are eyeing to implement in the next three years.
Davao City Acting Mayor Sebastian Duterte reminded the participants that the event was an opportunity to strengthen efforts to further improve services for Dabawenyos.
He also highlighted the strength of Dabawenyos that lie in active collaborations between the local government and the community.
Duterte also urged the department heads to collaborate more and maintain effective communication with the city councilors to craft legislation that would benefit the Dabawenyos.
“Kay gusto nato nga naa ta’y gobyerno ug ang atoang mga decisions data-driven gyud. Dili pwede kay naa lang ta’y gusto ipanghambog. Kinahanglan ang atoang mga decision naa’y consensus gikan sa tao … ang atoang mga desisyon kinahanglan kagustuhan sa kadaghana’ng mga Dabawenyo (Because we want to have an effective government with data-driven decisions, not because we want to brag. Our decisions must be grounded on what Dabawenyos need),” he also said.
“Kung naka-deliver ta og sakto nga impact katong previous nato nga term, karon mas dungagan pa nato. Dili ta mu-settle for mediocrity. Kinahanglan kung naa na ta’y nahimo unya nindot, dili nato na pasagdan. Ato na’ng idevelop, istudyohan nato kung unsaon pa nato na pag improve (Let us add more to the lasting impact that we were able to bring in the previous term. Let’s not settle for mediocrity. Let us continue to develop and further improve the programs and services we offer to Dabawenyos),” Duterte added. CIO