Rep. Maria Carmen Zamora’s advocacy of quality governance
How can our public leaders measure the satisfaction among their constituents? From their glowing feedback? Or if they rank high in public surveys that analyze their work in office? For Davao de Oro’s First District Representative Maria Carmen Zamora, it’s the smiles on her constituent’s faces.
The people’s smiles led her toward public service, determined her priorities as a lawmaker, and a constant reminder that seeing her district happy is a rewarding outcome for all her efforts. It has been her driving force for over three decades and will continue to be so in her future endeavors.
Rep. Zamora, fondly known as Maricar, is no stranger to public service. As the daughter of two public leaders, she witnessed the demands of every community and the public’s needs to survive daily at an early age. Her exposure shaped her into the woman and political figure she is today–one who can see the best and worst of life situations from each story she encounters with her people. And she had the chance to make everything better and worthwhile for her public, the district representative took every possible opportunity to paint a smile on their faces.
Davao de Oro’s 1st congressional district encompasses five municipalities: Compostela, Maragusan, Monkayo, Montevista, and New Bataan. This region represents a mix of rural and developing communities. The district holds historical significance within the Compostela Valley area. With a population of over 346,000 people (as of 2020), it’s a district with a growing population likely looking for representation that addresses both agricultural and development needs.
As its district representative in the 19th Congress, Rep. Zamora nurtures her community so they can become self-sustaining. Banking on her inspiration of seeing them smile, she developed Project SMILE, which stands for Social Services, Medical Assistance, Infrastructure Development, Livelihood Opportunities, and Educational Support–some of the fundamental demands of her constituents. The program encompasses the necessity to take advantage of government strategies to prepare for globalization.
Still, Rep. Zamora believed she could do much more as a public leader. She streamlined vital development programs for Davao de Oro’s First District to connect people and provide them with numerous favorable investments and opportunities.
When the 19th Congress opened in 2022, her aggressive participation in inter-bureaucratic partnerships successfully sealed P5.3 billion for her district, pouring P93.2 million into social, P123.2 million into medical, P5 billion into infrastructure, P55 million into livelihood, and P64.3 million into education programs for 2023.
In the same year, with the synergies forged among frontline agencies and earning the trust of the country’s top leaders, Rep. Zamora became the host of multiple pioneer programs of the national government, such as the largest government service caravan in history known as the Bagong Pilipinas Serbisyo Fair (BPSF) and an affiliate channel of programs and projects of the Tingog Party list province-wide.
Since Rep. Zamora returned to Congress after the 2022 midterm elections, her office also stabilized its presence in Maragusan, Monkayo, and New Bataan to make the services closer and more readily available to every deserving and indigent client.
Her office catered to beneficiaries of social services who were mostly victims of calamities worth 93.2 million pesos, 21,246 recipients of medical assistance in partnership with the Davao Regional Medical Center (DRMC), the Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC), and private facilities we tied up to widen the reach of our medical assistance, since 2022.
Infrastructure development also holds the lion’s share in their budget, with P5 billion. It boosted their economic capabilities by empowering women’s groups and other sectors benefiting from the P55 million worth of livelihood programs. Most importantly, the esteemed district representative’s team bolsters their belief that education will always be vital in a vast and promising future. Under the 64.3 million peso budget for education, they have supported 3,767 student grants within the district.
Meanwhile, Rep. Zamora didn’t overlook her duties in the House of Representatives, where she served as Chairperson for the Committee on Strategic Intelligence and Vice Chairperson for the Committees on Accounts, Appropriations, and Flagship Programs and Projects. She is also the principal author of 271 bills and co-author of 63 others.
She leveraged her abilities as district representative to further empower her constituents by focusing on their essential demands like education, medicine, and more.
One of her relevant bills includes House Bill 626, which integrated the Monkayo College of Arts, Science, and Technology as one of the campuses of the Davao de Oro State College. She also advocated for House Bill 627, which established a general hospital in the municipality of Monkayo, Davao de Oro province, to be known as Monkayo General Hospital.
Although her efforts bore fruit, as evident in the smiles on the faces of the residents of Davao de Oro’s First District, Rep. Zamora strives to surpass the accomplishments she achieved in the previous years as a shining light during dark times and as a beacon of the legacy of public service that she hopes to leave behind in her community.