ECONOMIC recovery, job generation, and fiscal relief were among the priorities laid out by Cagayan de Oro City Mayor Rolando ‘Klarex’ Uy in a speech marking his first 100 days in office today.
“Central to my governance (is improving the welfare of the ) people of Cagayan de Oro and every family (living in the city) — that all of them can provide food on their tables, that their children can go to schools and buy their needs, buy their own home and save enough for their needs…and this could only be achieved if there are more jobs,” Mayor Uy said in Visayan in his message before the City Hall bureaucracy, local officials and directors of national government agencies.
Also in attendance were Misamis Oriental Gov. Peter Unabia and Provincial Board Member Boboy Sabal.
“We started talking with the provincial government of Misamis Oriental and the towns of Opol and Tagoloan for greater cooperation in the coming days. I believe that true metropolization (for Cagayan de Oro) can only be achieved by establishing better relations with our neighbors,” Mayor Uy said in Visayan.
In prioritizing economic recovery, employment, and fiscal relief, Mayor Uy said the Covid-19 pandemic exacted a heavy toll on the city’s economy.
“(Rejuvenating our economy means generating more jobs and) opening more businesses (and inviting more investors) to provide more jobs. This is the core of my administration’s RISE agenda,” Mayor Uy said in Visayan.
Mayor Uy’s RISE development agenda is an acronym standing for (R) Regional leadership, metropolization, connectivity, and accessibility, (I) for Institutional Development and Participatory Governance, (S) for Safety, Security, and Social Development, and (E) for Economic Recovery.
Uy also identified several steps his administration took to rejuvenate Cagayan de Oro City’s economy.
These include producing 5,131 new job placements in 65 local companies and 10 overseas employers, providing a 20 percent discount to those filing their real property taxes for fiscal years 2023-2024, and a 10 percent discount to those who filed their business and other local taxes on time.
“About P3.5 billion (or 43 percent) of our budget will be used to pump-prime our economy,” Uy said in Visayan.
Uy also confirmed that his administration will pursue a 1,000-hectare reclamation along the coastal road from dredged earth materials sourced from the Cagayan de Oro and Iponan Rivers to provide, among other initiatives, social housing for the city’s indigent families.
Mayor Uy also said City Hall already crafted its 2023 annual investment plan worth P8.2 billion for the city.
To encourage investments, Mayor Uy called on City Hall’s department managers to streamline its processing services, specifically to reduce 21 to five steps in the processing and release of building permits.
“I ask the 20th City Council to provide guidelines in streamlining the processing of building permits applications, licenses, and certifications,” Uy said.
“By streamlining our processes our investors can proceed immediately with their projects. This will encourage more investors to enter the city and produce more jobs for our people…(we also want to encourage) our taxpayers to pay their taxes in time or ahead of time because of easier and clearer guidelines, knowing full well that their taxes will be put to good use,” Uy said in Visayan.
Aside from economic recovery, Mayor Uy also discussed his administration’s initiatives in improving the city’s peace and order, health care system, public access to education, traffic situation, tourism, modernization of public markets, and flood mitigation among others.
Mayor Uy said this means more revenues for better social services by rejuvenating the city’s economy.
These services include improving the city’s water supply and garbage collection which his administration will work on in the coming days, Mayor Uy said.
“My administration’s goal is always public service (to the people of Cagayan de Oro). Our RISE agenda isn’t just a list of projects nor a framework of our development agenda but a challenge to every one of us to help each other in building back a better Cagayan de Oro City,” Uy said in Visayan. (Stephen Capillas of City Information Office )