Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso highlighted the developments in the city made amid the COVID-19 pandemic in his third State of the City Address on July 15, Thursday.
In his almost two-hour report, Domagoso listed the efforts done by the local government to fight COVID-19, as well as projects to address problems such as poverty, unemployment, and lack of educational materials for hybrid learning.
“If we have done so much with so little time, so little, so fast under challenging conditions, it is because ordinary people rose to extraordinary things,” Domagoso said.
“We did not lock down development, we did not place progress in quarantine, we worked through the long dark night," he added.
Here are the developments in Manila as told by Domagoso in his State of the City Address:
ON COVID-19 PANDEMIC RESPONSE
- Vaccines deployed in the city nears one million
- Procurement of equipment such as air-purifying respirators, mechanical ventilators, saturation machines, and high-low oxygenators for the city’s six district hospitals
- Construction of COVID-19 Vaccine Storage Facility at Sta. Ana Hospital
- Construction of COVID-19 Field Hospital
- Construction of a molecular testing laboratory in Sta. Ana Hospital
- Tripartite agreement with AstraZeneca for 800,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines
- Twenty-two (22) vaccination sites operating
- Procurement of Remdesivir, Tocilizumab, Avigan
FOOD SECURITY PROGRAM
The Food Security Program was launched by the city of Manila "to cushion the socioeconomic impact of COIVD-19 pandemic.”
More than 692,000 families in 896 barangays in the city have received food boxes in the span of six months.
“Although we observe social distancing to stop COVID, we practice social solidarity to fight its effects," the mayor said.
FINANCIAL ALLOWANCE
As of July, the city of Manila has given financial allowances to more than 15,000 senior citizens, more than 21,8000 persons with disabilities, 5,000 plus solo parents, 17,000 plus college students, and 5,000 plus grade 12 students.
UNEMPLOYMENT
Domagoso reported that 11,630 Manilans were provided with jobs through the city's Public Employment Services Office (PESO).
"When there is joblessness in the country, the city of Manila looked and made jobs for the people of Manila,” Domagoso said.
EDUCATION
Amid the pandemic, Domagao said enrollment in the city's public schools and state universities have increased.
Domagoso also said three schools will be redeveloped by the city namely Dr. Alejandro Albert Elementary School, Rosauro Almario Elementary School, and Manila Science High School.
To help children who are learning from their respective homes amid the pandemic, the city of Manila also provided 137,217 tables with SIM cards to public students and 11,000 laptops for public school teachers.
BUSINESS/ECONOMY
The mayor said the city continues to “put ease to requirements and make it easy” for businessmen to develop their projects in the city.
“Development creates jobs, development creates taxes. This is going to be our windfall in the next coming years. We should create a new source of taxes by inviting development in our city,” Domagoso said.
The mayor also reported that the city has already collected 71.34 percent of its target real property tax collection in a span of six months.
Domagoso attributed the growth in the city’s tax collection to good governance.
“If people are shown how taxes they have paid are spent they will pay on time...The best way to promote tax obedience is to practice good governance,” he said.