MABALACAT CITY — Mayor Crisostomo Garbo said politics may have delayed some of the city’s goals, but the city government has still achieved significantly despite attempts to discredit and tarnish his good intentions.
“Your Mabalacat City Government cares, and MCG never stops,” he said in his State of the City Address held at the Tabnuan Cultural Center on July 26.
Before highlighting the city’s accomplishments, the mayor first thanked members of the Sangguniang Panlungsod, village chiefs, barangay kagawad and SK members and the executive department for helping him achieve the city’s goals.
“Ngunit sa bawat tagumpay, may kaakibat itong hamon sa ating buhay. Bago pa man po akong manilbihan bilang alkalde, nagkaroon ng hamon tungkol sa sistema ng pamamahala. Sa tulong ninyo, nai-ayos natin ito at kusa na sumibol ang ‘Bayung Mabalacat,” he said.
Citing his role as the focal mayor for health programs in the League of Cities of the Philippines, the city is known for having tangible and comprehensive programs on healthcare.
Garbo said the city has programs on immunization, maternal health,childhood and adolescent health, environment and sanitation, dental health, voluntary blood donation, City Epidemiology Surveillance Unit functionality, emerging and re-emerging diseases, Dengue prevention and control, disaster risk reduction management on health, mental health, family planning, STI and HIV, and non-communicable diseases. The city also has a TB DOTS accreditation from the Department of Health.
Because of the city’s comprehensive health programs, Garbo said Mabalacat has been given the Excellence Award in Public Health Program Implementation for LGUs; Maternal Neonatal Child Health and Nutrition Champion for City Category. It was also awarded the Pulang Laso Excellence Award for Health for STI, HIV/AIDS program for having its own HIV treatment facility – the ang AMLAT Mabalacat Primary HIV Care Clinic.
Garbo said the city’s RHU 3 is now a DOH-licensed Primary Health Care facility, while the RHU 2, and MCG-RHU-3 Animal Bite Treatment Center were given DOH certification and accredition by Philhealth.
The City Nutrition Office, according to the mayor, has been implementing the Philippine Plan of Action for Nutrition, improving the nutritional status of severely and moderately acute malnourished children through a targeted supplementary feeding program. The CHO has also assisted nutritionally-at-risk pregnant women through then AKAP project or Aruga, Kalinga, Antabay Partner.
The city has assisted Mabalaquenians through the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation o AICS program, including beneficiaries for medical and hospital assistance, laboratory and medical procedures, educational assistance, and burial assistance. Its Pagkain sa Hapag Kainan program, with a P4-million funding from the mayor’s office, has benefited 2,250 families, while a one-time cash aid of Php20,000 each were given to beneficiaries of its Cash Assistance to Bedridden Individuals.
The city’s disadvantaged youth are being assisted through the Santungan (or Bahay Pag-Asa) under the CSWDO located in Atlu-Bola, while financial aid were given to ALS students as well as educational aid and livelihood training for industrial sewing machine operation to solo parents.
Substantial funds have also been allocated to the Women and Children Protection Unit to help Children in Need of Special Protection, Children in Conflict with the Law, Children at Risk, Women in Especially Difficult Circumstances, adoption cases, among others.
“And because of our dedication and compassion, our CSWDO achieved the highest rating of Level 3 of Service Delivery Capacity Assessment by the DSWD,” the mayor said.
The Mabalacat City Government is also very active on implementing its monthly Kadiwa ng Pangulo program, empowering our local farming community by providing a direct and effective farm-to-consumer food supply chain, while the Mabalacat City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, which has bagged the National Gawad KALASAG Seal of Excellence for being fully compliant, has continuously been implementing programs for thr protection of residents.
“Because of our proactive measures, lumalakas ang paniniwala na makamit natin ang Beyond Compliant status sa susunod na Gawad Kalasag,” the mayor said.
The City Environment and Natural Resources Office was also recently recognized as Highly Compliant with a rating of 91.65% by the LGU Compliance Assessment for the Supreme Court Mandamus Manila Bay Clean-Up, Rehabilitation and Preservation Program. It also onducted the 2023 Barangay Environmental Compliance Audit or BECA to assess and gauge the status of all 27 barangays’ current environmental management condition.
Meanwhile, the city government and the Mabalacat City College launched the Return to Education Assistance Program or REAP, which specifically intends to reach out to out-of-school youth and drop-out students within the community and offer them support and assistance to pursue their tertiary education. The mayor also took the opportunity to encourage dropouts back to the educational ecosystem under the Flexible Learning Program which is the MCC Pro Plus.
The mayor cited MCC for offering world-class educational programs and services. It has been included in international ranks particularly the World University Rankings for Innovation o WURI 2023 because of its outstanding achievement sa crisis management, student support and engagement, and industrial application. The MCC has also been included in the Times Higher Education Rankings 2024, clinching the prestigious Technological or Digital Innovation of the Year award among top contenders like Chiang Mai University, James Cook University, and National University of Singapore.
Meanwhile, in support of DepEd Mabalacat, the city government distributed laptops to teachers and has assisted in the annual Brigada Eskwela.
For livelihood, the City PESO achieved significant milestones in various employment programs for the Mabalaqueños from July 2023 to June of 2024. The city is also committed to strengthening the institutionalization of Barangay Public Employment Service Office.
With the full implementation of the local revenue code, local revenues surged by 23% growth from 2022 to 2023. These improvements are set to directly benefit more constituents by bolstering community services and support, the mayor said.
“And once again, Mabalacat city has been recognized as a national passer for the 2023 Good Financial Housekeeping, as announced by the Department of Interior and Local Government, and Local Governance Resource Center. And with this, Mabalacat city is set to pursue national recognition once more by the end of 2024,” he added. “Dahil sa maayos nating pamamahala, nakatanggap muli tayo ng award, this time, from the PSA Stakeholder’s Appreciation Ceremony, at ito ay ang Outstanding Respondent Award (LGU Category) noong September 22, 2023.”
Meantime, the city’s Business Permit and Licensing Unit, being proactive in inspections, has reported to the Office of the Governor that there are no illegal POGOs in the city. The mayor has directed the Mabalacat City Police Station and barangay officials to monitor the communities against illegal activities like scam-farming.
“For public infrastructure projects implementation, we have completed several infra which contributed to the city’s social and economic development, as well as in the field of environmental management. The total infrastructure completed within the year reached approximately ₱117.87 million,” the mayor said.
Apart from various infra projects, the Mabalacat City Government has ongoing digitalization of public services through the Management Information System Office which is mandated to manage the needs of our LGU in accordance to one of the pillars of good governance under the Garbo administration which is ‘Digital Access to Information and Services.’
The MIS office is currently responsible for developing system applications including the City Vaccination Information System, City Migrant Management System, CESO database, and ICT Asset Management System. It also successfully revived the official website of the Mabalacat City Local Government Unit, as well as upgraded the city hall internet and its network system.
“Pagdating sa usapang turismo, biglang sumikat ang Mabalacat. Hindi natin mapagkakaila ang tagumpay ng sinimulan nating Balacat Festival na siguradong tumatak sa puso’t ala-ala ng mga nakaranas rito. Marami sa ating mga kabalen na nagsi-abroad ang biglang namiss ang dating buhay nila sa Mabalacat kaya’t marami rin ang nagbalikbayan upang maexperience ang Bayung Mabalacat,” Garbo said.
Because of its programs on tourism and local arts and culture, Mabalacat City was chosen as a recipient of the Lungsod Lunsad program of the Department of Trade and Industry.
“Kaya naman dito sa Tabnuan, meron na tayong digital kiosk featuring a directory of our local furniture industry, showcasing the craftsmanship of local artisans,” he said.
The city has also been chosen to host the International Field School Intangible Cultural Heritage Conference from the Asia-Pacific Higher Education Network for Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage – a first outside of South Korea. It was also chosen by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts to host the opening ceremony of the recent National Food Month.
“My fellow Mabalaqueños, together, we have put Mabalacat city on the map of the world. Pinag-uusapan tayo ngayon ng hindi lamang mula sa ibang rehiyon kung di pati na ng nasa ibang bansa…naririnig niyo rin sa akin every flag ceremony na walang perpektong Local Government Unit. Meron laging babatikos sa bawat liderato. But I embrace these criticisms with sincerity, and I use them as my motivation to serve my constituents even better,” the mayor said.
