Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte on Wednesday lauded the Office of the Civil Defense for recognizing the readiness of the city government to reduce the impacts and risks of hazards on its citizens.
Belmonte said the city has bagged at least five awards and a special recognition, including the best Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council in the recent 21st Gawad KAlamidad at Sakuna LAbanan, SAriling Galing ang Kaligtasan (KALASAG) regional event.
The city’s DRRM Council was chosen as the best in the highly urbanized city category, while Barangay Batasan Hills was first place in the best urban barangay DRMM committee.
The Rosa Susano Elementary School in QC topped the best public elementary school category.
Quezon City received the best government emergency management services award, while the World Mission Society was adjudged as the best civil society organization.
The Quezon City General Hospital was awarded the best local hospital.
“First of all, we are very elated. I congratulate the entire DRRMC for their expertise and consistency in bagging the awards (every year),” Belmonte said.
She said the awards underscored Quezon City’s readiness, vigilance, and resiliency against natural and man-made disasters that may occur.
The mayor also lauded QC-based private organizations and other stakeholders for their contribution in enhancing the city’s disaster preparedness programs.
“This is a symbol that we as a city are united and we work as one. Any challenges that come our way, we can succeed in achieving as long as everybody, especially our stakeholders, work together,” she said.
Meanwhile, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) lauded Barangay Tatalon for its efforts to resolve traffic woes in its thoroughfares.
“This is an example that you might want to adopt,” DILG Undersecretary Epimaco Densing III said, citing Tatalon’s barangay ordinance that only allows one-side parking in certain streets.
Tatalon’s Barangay Council passed the measure after exhaustive consultative meetings with residents hailed an example of participatory governance.
In his speech at the Metro Manila Council’s meeting last July 26, Densing reminded city mayors present of President Rodrigo Duterte’s directive during his State of the Nation Address last Monday to “reclaim all public roads that are being used for private ends.
The DILG also urged the city mayors to ask their respective city councils to review their local traffic management codes.
Metro Manila Development Authority Chairman Danilo Lim also advised the mayors to start the cleanup of national roads in their areas of jurisdiction.
Lim also urged them to document the ‘before and after’ situation of the streets.
Mayor Belmonte for her part has directed the QC Department of Public Order and Safety, Environmental Protection and Waste Management Department and the Market Development and Administration Department to clear the city’s sidewalks of obstructions, including illegally parked vehicles, unauthorized tarps, and illegal vendors.