The Quezon City government's programs were chosen as finalists in the 2021 Galing Pook Awards, a prestigious search that promotes innovation and excellence in local governance.
“We are truly proud of these programs because of how they greatly influence and change the lives of our QCitizens. We are happy because amid the pandemic, we were able to continue providing social services that went beyond the COVID-19 response,” Mayor Joy Belmonte said. Bearing the theme “GobyerNEW: Magagaling na Programa mula sa Magagaling na Pook”, this year’s Galing Pook Awards focuses on local government units’ programs “that exemplified adaptiveness, innovation, resiliency, and excellence during these difficult times.” One of finalists is the Quezon City Human Milk Bank (QCHMB) program which aims to help and prevent deaths among vulnerable newborns by providing mother's milk.
As of 2020, the QCHMB has helped 5,023 infants survive. It provided 979,624ml pasteurized human milk across the country.
Quezon City also has a community-based rehabilitation program under the Kabahagi Center for Children with Disabilities.
As of June 2021, 1,339 children with disabilities have been profiled by disability focal persons; 1,163 of them availed of the services of the Kabahagi Center; 1,240 therapy services were provided to the children. The children’s families also received multiple benefits such as livelihood training and educational workshops.
The program adopted several innovations such as telemedicine, telecoaching, and e-skwela to provide unhampered services to children with disabilities and their families during this pandemic.
The local government's main advocacy is its multi-sectoral and community-based food security program named GrowQC: Kasama ka sa Pag-unlad sa Pagkain, Kabuhayan at Kalusugan Food Security Program, which was launched at the height of the pandemic in April 2020.
Its objectives meet the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) #2 - Zero Hunger, SDG#3 - Good Health & Well-being, SDG#8 - Decent Work & Economic Growth, and SDG#17 - Partnership for the Sustainable Development Goals. The said program has distributed 52,374 starter kits and seedlings to 37 communities. It institutionally repurposed spaces of 41 Brigada Eskwela urban gardens (under the Gulayan sa Paaralan Program) and 49 gardens of civil society organizations, private organizations and non-government organizations. It also provided 1,166 unemployed/underemployed/displaced workers with livelihood and employment.
“We are fortunate to have an active citizenry here in our city where everyone is ready to heed the call to action and help their fellow citizens. The success of these programs, among other programs of the city, are truly an inspiration to continue abiding by the pillars of our governance philosophy, which is inclusivity - Kasama ka sa Pag-unlad,” Belmonte said.
Ten winners from a total of 22 finalists from a roster of 280 entries will be awarded on Oct. 20, 2021.