QUEZON City Mayor Herbert Bautista is leading the city’s delegation to two high-profile international conferences in France and the United States.
For steering the city into the most competitive highly urbanized city in the country and for winning various governance awards here and abroad, Bautista has become a sought-after resource person on local governmental management and sustainable development.
The QC delegation is attending the Partnership for Healthy Cities in Paris, France, sponsored by Bloomberg Philanthropies. Bautista was personally invited to the forum by Michael Bloomberg, the three-term mayor of New York City.
From Paris, the city delegation will head for the United Nations headquarters in New York to attend the 12th Global Forum on Human Settlements and Sustainable Cities and Human Settlements Awards Ceremony from October 30 to 31.
Quezon City is joining 45 other First World and developing cities in the Bloomberg forum that aims to help cities around the world deliver high-impact policy or intervention measures to reduce non-communicable disease risk factors in their communities.
Before leaving the country, Bautista issued Office Order 148-2017 designating Vice Mayor Josefina Belmonte as acting mayor, with District 2 Councilor Precious Hipolito-Castelo as acting vice mayor until Oct. 28.
Quezon City is set to get support for the implementation of a campaign to reduce the consumption of sugary drinks.
Ordinance 2579-2017, authored by Councilor Irene Belmonte, prohibits stores near schools from selling junk food and soft drinks to minors.
Meanwhile, the 36-member city council passed a resolution urging the Department of Information and Communications Technology to include all public elementary and high schools in Quezon City in the national government’s free Wi-fi project.
The DICT will implement the free Wi-fi Internet access in public places under the Philippine Digital Strategy 2011-2016 to provide free Internet connections in public places such as public schools, parks,
libraries, national and local government offices, public hospitals, rural health units, airports, seaports and train stations.
The council also passed a resolution authorizing Bautista to extend financial aid to the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry National Capital Region chapter.
City Resolution 7227-2017, introduced by Councilor Godofredo T. Liban II, cleared the donation of P500,000 to PCCI NCR. The amount will be used to help defray the cost of holding the 25th Metro Manila Business Conference.
“It is a form of good governance to utilize the resources and/or funds of the City as efficiently and effectively as possible to finance the delivery of basic services, and the enhancement of various social and economic activities for the prosperity and progress of the people of [Quezon City],” the resolution read.