By Bohol Chronicle
Tagbilaran City residents welcomed the promised projects and projects which Tagbilaran City Mayor Dan Lim enumerated to be done in 872 days.
He issued the commitment during his State-of-the-City address (SOCA) before the city council on Tuesday.
Well meaning citizens said they will keep a close watch on these programs envisioned to be done by the mayor during his last term as city chief executive.
Widely criticized for his lack of transparency and consultative governance, the city mayor who is serving his last term, stressed his administration is on the right track - by giving precedence to people-oriented programs over infrastructure projects.
With a little over two years left in office, the city mayor declared that after addressing the primary concerns of the people, the city government will train its sights on the infrastructure needed to jumpstart the economy.
"Your government will help you address your basic needs and even provide opportunities for progress and development, but people also have to do their share from their end," said Lim as he appealed for grassroots involvement with the various government offices to accomplish his plans towards the remaining 872 days of his term.
The mayor's Soca encapsulates what is left to be done of the city's Comprehensive Development Program.
Mayor Lim declared to undertake a city-wide road and drainage improvement project as he again put the blame on past administrations for its neglect of city roads and sewer systems in the last 20 years.
In his report, Lim claimed the city government has already covered some 52.6 kilometers, 28.312 kilometers of which are rough roads.
"It is still a long way to go. It won't be over in a short while, it won't be cheap and it won't be easy, but we are getting there," the city mayor said.
He likewise assured that a new Cogon Public Market will rise before his term expires.
"Just as we honored our promise to finish the City Square (former Agora Public Market), we will also honor our commitment to build a modern public market in Cogon," he added.
Along with the road repairs and maintenance, the mayor also promised to undertake "the widest street-lighting project in the history of the city" using the lighting facility installed in barangay Bool as "the model for the rest of the city".
The mayor also declared his intent on implementing a new no-smoking ordinance, the no-parking measure in traffic chokepoints and the restriction of 10-wheeler trucks in congested streets, saying these measures are urgent and "socially helpful" despite being "politically harmful".
"Public hearings are being conducted on some of these laws, preparatory to their actual implementation. As I said earlier, they are potential political risks but we have to put premium on health, order and the interest of the majority," he stressed.
The city chief executive also said he is pushing for the development and beautification of the beaches in barangay Mansasa, Poblacion 1, Cainggit and Ubujan to recover "the lost beauty of our shorelines".
Lim also vowed to address the management and development of Mabaw Reef as he envisions the undertaking to be the city's showcase in coastal resource management.
Even with perennial complaints against his administration's health and social programs, the mayor claims these are "far better than most local government units and anywhere else in Bohol".
Mayor Lim reported that the "Blue Card" program which provides for free hospitalization to indigent patients has already served 1,176 beneficiaries alongside the free medical services that the City Health Office also provides.
Criticized for exploiting the dispensation of free health services exclusively benefitting political supporters, the mayor maintains the present health program has never been as extensive in the history of Tagbilaran.
Despite terminating the services of hundreds of barangay and purok health workers early this year, the mayor still claims in his Soca that basic health care requirements of the community are being met.
Lim cited the ongoing services of the Botika sa Katawhan which continues to distribute free medicines to qualified senior citizens and indigents which the only one of its kind in the entire country.
He assured that the city can cope with the increasing cost of its operation as it now covers 3,841 card holders or families.
The mayor likewise guaranteed that the distribution of free school uniforms and school supplies to children studying in public elementary schools in the city, which benefited a total of 9,857 this year, will be a continuing program of his administration.
"We continue to provide subsidy for qualified college students who have shown their desire to finish college. Of course, while we want as many graduates as possible, there is a limit to what we can do. They have to deserve their privilege. At every opportunity, we hammer home the message that people should come first. All the other claims to progress do not mean anything if our people are neglected and unserved," Lim added.
Moreover, the mayor reported that the city government is already "studying appropriate measures to reduce the risks of disasters" and brace against the impact of climate change.
Other plans include equipping barangay and purok tanods and health workers along with the members of the task force for the challenges to come, with assurance that their positions will never be made a political accommodation.
"Our city workers can expect more wage hikes as the need arises," Lim said.
Recalling his campaign promise back in 2004 when he won his first term, the mayor said he will tie up with appropriate agencies to put up a socialized housing for city workers and to pursue the project on the construction of tenements for the city's informal settlers.
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Topic: What Projects in Tagbilaran City? (Read 2326 times)