The City of Muntinlupa celebrates its 104th founding anniversary on Monday, Dec. 20, by giving due recognition to its coronavirus disease (COVID-19) response partners.
Muntinlupa became an independent municipality when then Governor General Francis Burton Harrison signed Executive Order 108 on Dec. 19, 1917, “separating the former municipality of Muntinlupa from the present municipality of Taguig, Province of Rizal, and reorganizing the same into an independent municipality, with the seat of government in the present barrio of Muntinlupa.” Harrison’s order took effect on Jan. 1, 1918.
Vidal Joaquin, a native of Alabang, was appointed as mayor in 1918, and Melencio Espeleta became the first elected mayor of Muntinlupa.
Muntinlupa became a highly urbanized city on March 1, 1995 when President Fidel V. Ramos signed Republic Act 7926.
Mayor Jaime Fresnedi and Rep. Ruffy Biazon, together with councilors and city officials, kicked off the anniversary celebration by gracing the blessing ceremony of the first four buildings of BALAI Muntinlupa, a housing project for city government employees and officials located at Lakeview in Bgy. Putatan.
BALAI Muntinlupa will be composed of 35 four-storey medium-rise buildings with 668 housing units and 115 parking spaces.
A Thanksgiving Mass was scheduled at the Muntinlupa City hall quadrangle to be followed by a short program.
In a recorded message, Vice President Leni Robredo congratulated city officials and the people of Muntinlupa on their anniversary celebration. She also recognized the city’s resilience throughout the years and vowed to provide assistance to Muntinlupeños.
Fresnedi thanked the Office of the Vice President and the city’s partners in the local COVID-19 response efforts and sustainability of programs despite the challenges posed by the pandemic.
He attributed Muntinlupa’s development and the improvement of the local COVID-19 situation to the “whole-city” recovery approach.
“Our approach became ‘whole-city’ wherein the city government, the Muntinlupa City Council, barangays, police, Bureau of Fire Protection, private sector and every citizen worked together. We have again proved that through unity, all our goals will be achieved,” said the mayor.
Muntinlupa City’s active COVID-19 cases have dipped to single-digit since Dec. 16. To date, there are only six active cases in the city with five barangays logging zero active cases.
As of Dec. 16, at least 437,010 individuals were vaccinated in the city, translating to 114 percent of the target population.
The Muntinlupa City government will award plaques of recognition to its local partners including barangay captains, the Muntinlupa City Police Station, Muntinlupa City Health Office, National COVID-19 Vaccine Operations Center (NVOC), SM Center Muntinlupa, Festival Supermall, Ayala Malls South Park, Alabang Town Center, PLDT, and Globe Telecom.
Biazon will attend the ceremony along with NVOC chair Usec. Myrna Cabotaje, Vice Mayor Temy Simundac, and members of the City Council.
In 2021, the Muntinlupa City government garnered awards and citations from various agencies. Among them are the Green Banner Seal of Compliance Award, Best LGU in Nutrition Governance, Best LGU in the Implementation of National Dietary Supplementation Program, Best LGU in the Implementation of Nutrition in Emergencies Program, Best LGU in the Implementation of Nutrition Promotion for Behavior Change Program, Best LGU in Documentation of Nutrition Programs, 5th Most Competitive City among Highly Urbanized City in the 2021 Cities and Municipalities Index (CMCI), first in CMCI Resiliency Pillar, fifth in CMCI Infrastructure Pillar, sixth in CMCI Most Improved City, and seventh in CMCI Government Efficiency Pillar.