Muntinlupa will celebrate its 27th cityhood anniversary on March 1 with presidential aspirant and Vice President Leni Robredo as guest of honor.
Muntinlupa Mayor Jaime Fresnedi and other city officials will lead the cityhood anniversary celebration.
Fresnedi will be reporting to the people of Muntinlupa the accomplishments of his administration in the last nine years since assuming office as mayor in 2013.
March 1 is a special non-working holiday in Muntinlupa, which was declared as Muntinlupa City Charter Day under Republic Act 9191 “to commemorate the Charter Anniversary of the said city.”
In the morning, a Thanksgiving Mass will be held at the Muntinlupa City hall quadrangle to be followed by the inauguration of Muntinlupa Aquatic Center (MAC) in Barangay Tunasan.
The Muntinlupa Aquatic Center has an Olympic-size swimming pool and is envisioned to be one of the major aquatic sports event facilities in the National Capital Region.
In the afternoon, Fresnedi will deliver his State of the City Address in a program at Muntinlupa Sports Center which will be attended by Robredo.
Fresnedi thanked Robredo for her programs that benefited the people of Muntinlupa. Other officials who are expected to attend are Muntinlupa Rep. Ruffy Biazon, Vice Mayor Artemio Simundac, and city councilors.
Since taking office in 2013, Fresnedi focused on major programs and projects in education, infrastructure, health, finance, livelihood and employment.
In education, the city’s scholarship program was expanded under Fresnedi and has catered to more than 180,000 scholars. The fund allocated to the program reached almost P2.3 billion.
The city-run Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Muntinlupa also qualified for the free higher education act, or the program by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and Unified Student Financial Assistance System for Tertiary Education (UniFAST) granting free tuition, miscellaneous and other school fees.
Under Fresnedi, the Colegio de Muntinlupa was established in 2018.
In health, Muntinlupa was recognized as an outstanding local government unit for nutrition programs and bagged the Green Banner Award in 2018 and 2021.
Facilities of the city-run Ospital ng Muntinlupa were also renovated and the construction of its extension building is underway.
Fresnedi also pushed for the granting of zero-interest loans to micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs). At least 7,294 MSMEs have been granted a total of P169.8 million in zero-interest loans.
In disaster risk reduction and preparedness, state-of-the-art facilities were constructed and personnel were trained for disaster response efforts. The Muntinlupa Emergency Hotline 137-175 was also launched.
Fresnedi also focused on infrastructure with the construction of school buildings and government offices, Muntinlupa Sports Complex Development, Centennial Avenue Development, Pacwood Site Development, and the ongoing construction of the Central Market of Muntinlupa and BALAI Muntinlupa housing project.
For its efforts, the Muntinlupa City government under Fresnedi has been recognized with various awards and commendations.
Some of these citations include the Green Banner Award in 2018 and 2021; Most Business-Friendly LGU in 2017 and 2018; Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Cities and Municipalities Competitiveness Index (Top 1 in Resilience Pillar in 2020 and 2021, Top 5 Most Competitive Highly Urbanized City in 2020 and 2021, Top 3 in Government Efficiency Pillar in 2017); Seal of Good Local Governance in 2015 and 2019; Good Financial Housekeeping in 2015, 2020, and 2021; Seal of Child-Friendly Local Governance in 2016 and 2017; Jose Rizal Award for four consecutive years; runner-up in the 4th International Best Practice Competition in 2015; Best Customer Experience Award in Union Internationale des Transports Publics in 2017; Civil Service Commission PRIME-HRM Bronze Award in 2021; and Excellent Rating in Compliance on Anti-Red Tape Act in 2016.
On March 1, 1995, Muntinlupa was converted from a municipality to a highly urbanized city and became the 65th city of the Philippines with the signing of Republic Act 7926.
City Administrator Allan Cachuela is the overall chairman of the Muntinlupa cityhood celebration together with Roger Smith, Marilou Ampaya, Engr. Dyna Aranda, Arch. Don Causapin, Danidon Nolasco, Cynthia Viacrusis, Alvin Veron, Dr. Ellen Presnedi, Gary Llamas, and Tez Navarro.