QUEZON City Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte on Tuesday credited her father, former mayor and current 4th District Rep. Feliciano “Sonny” Belmonte Jr., for “getting the city out of debt.”
She credited the elder Belmonte, who led Quezon City for nine years, for the city’s transformation “into what it is today.”
She called the former mayor and House Speaker as “The Father of Modern Quezon City,” saying he was able to rescue the city from its huge financial debt when he got elected in 2001.
“When he sat as mayor, we were in the red. Quezon City was financially hard-up. Under his leadership, we were able to pay all the city’s dues,” she said.
When he took over from Ismael Mathay Jr. in 2001, Belmonte Jr. inherited a city government with unpaid financial obligations amounting to P3 billion, the daughter said.
When Belmonte completed his term in 2010, he left the current administration of Mayor Herbert Bautista with about P6 billion in funds and assets, making Quezon City the richest city in Metro Manila, the vice mayor added.
In another development, the Quezon City government will hold its third Animation and Information Technology Fair at the QCX Museum inside the Quezon Memorial Circle from Feb. 22 to 24.
With this year’s theme, “Digital Tools in Developing Smart Citizens,” students from private and public high schools are expected to learn the latest techniques in animation and IT.
Bautista said Quezon City is eyeing to join the ranks of the world’s smartest cities through IT as a platform to improve its public service.
