27 Barangays, Say Yes to Empowerment

January 31, 2020

Slick as whistle, Barangay Captains of 27 barangays say yes to barangay empowerment with  strong expectancy for a breakthrough in local governance.

In a launching ceremony on January 24, 2020, Barangay Officials joined City Mayor Eliordo U. Ogena in the ceremonial signing of Executive Order 7, Series of 2020, a directive mandating the establishment of polices and guidelines for the implementation of the Barangay Empowerment Program and the creation of its taskforce and evaluation team.

In his official statement, the Local Chief Executive said that as the father of the city, he is mandated by the law to pay visit and inspect the barangays while ensuring the improvement and upliftment of the quality of life of its inhabitants. “Although this is only one of the programs under my 10-point Development Agenda, under the Masigasig na Kabalikat o Katuwang ng Barangay at Tunay na Kaibigan ng Sitio, I will show you that all the programs that we wanted to implement in the Barangays were incorporated in this program”, Mayor Ogena said in his speech during the launch.

It is the thrust of the current administration to strengthen and empower the barangay, enabling them to maintain and sustain eventually their own development in accordance to its plan and pace. With the program, the administration hopes to transform the city to a highly competitive, resilient and empowered communities in a progressive, safe, environment friendly, garbage-free and beautifully landscaped green city with a catchphrase, Bagong Koronadal.

The program will directly benefit the team players and constituents of the 27 barangays based on the four components to include; aid to component barangays, assistance to purok sitio presidents, assistance to puroks and sitios, and search for the best performing barangay. With the introduction of new initiatives, policies and guidelines, the Mayor hopes to boost and elevate the quality of life of its people.

On top of the city government’s direct initiatives, a P1 million ‘seed money’ for each barangay was allocated for the purpose of implementing various programs, projects and activities that would directly profit the grassroots.

Meanwhile, the Search for the Best Performing Barangay hopes to motivate them to become competitive and committed in performing their duties and responsibilities. A cash incentive will be given to the top 3 barangays particularly 1st Place – P3,000,000, 2nd Place – P2,000,000, and 3rd Place – P1,000,000. They will be subjected to quarterly assessment using the agreed parameters to determine how empowered they are.

In his speech, the Mayor also extended his appreciation to the members of the Sangguniang Panlungsod for their support in the aspect of budget approval.

As the program promise future change and improvement, the barangay officials can now draw strength in their commitment in attaining inclusive growth and development through the provision of adequate resources with clear direction, supervision and support from the city government.