Muntinlupa Mayor Jaime Fresnedi reported to the public on Tuesday, March 1, the accomplishments of his administration in the last nine years particularly in education, infrastructure, health services, and finance.
Fresnedi, Rep. Ruffy Biazon, Vice Mayor Artemio Simundac, city councilors and officials led the celebration of the 27th cityhood anniversary on March 1 at the Muntinlupa Sports Complex with Vice President and presidential aspirant Leni Robredo and Sen. Kiko Pangilinan as guests of honor.
In his State of the City Address, Fresnedi hailed Biazon as the next Muntinlupa mayor and Robredo as the next president of the country.
Fresnedi is in his last term as mayor and is running for congressman of Muntinlupa in the May 9 national and local elections. Biazon is running for mayor.
In his speech, Fresnedi belied the allegation that his administration took out a loan amounting to P1.2 billion from Landbank of the Philippines to fund infrastructure projects.
Landbank issued a certification that the Muntinlupa City government has not availed of the standby loan.
“This day is special as we are not only commemorating the anniversary of the cityhood of Muntinlupa, but we are also celebrating the nearly 30 years of progress of our city,” said Fresnedi.
Muntinlupa became a highly urbanized city on March 1, 1995 when Republic Act 7926 was signed by then President Fidel V. Ramos.
Fresnedi cited former Mayor Ignacio R. Bunye as the Father of Muntinlupa's Cityhood and Councilor Raul Corro as the Architect of Cityhood.
He said when he assumed office in 2013, “I gave my best service to our beloved city.”
“To the best of my ability and with the help of our partners, we sought to uplift the quality of life of our residents. This Cityhood Anniversary, it is most appropriate to look back. From the start of my administration up to the present, ‘are we better off?’” he said.
Through land banking, or buying land for future use, Fresnedi said the city government under his administration has implemented various projects in education, housing and health.
Among these are the following:
4.3 hectares in Lakeview, Barangay Putatan which was used to build a high school, health center and the BALAI Muntinlupa housing project for city officials and employees
1.6 hectares in Sucat used to establish the Colegio de Muntinlupa;
1.6 hectares in Sucat for two buildings for senior high school and one building for sa tech-voc;
1.5 hectares in Cupang for senior high school through the office of then Muntinlupa Rep. Rodolfo Biazon
1 hectare in Tunasan for the Muntinlupa Aquatic Center
3,740 sq.m. in Putatan for the Bahay Pag-asa
1,469 sq.m. in Poblacion for the health center and future site of an evacuation center
5,321 sq.m. in Putatan for the City Cemetery expansion project
2,819 sq.m in Putatan for the Lakeview Senior High School;
1,434 sq.m. at the back of the city hall for parking and city hall expansion
5,647 sq.m. in Putatan to be used for the site of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology jail facility
8,808 sq.m. in Putatan for the ongoing construction of the Junior High School in Putatan
2,844 sq.m. in Poblacion, which used to be the site of the Sacred Heart Institute, which will be used as site for the Special Education (SPED) Center
1,450 sq.m. in Victoria Homes in Tunasan for the ongoing construction of the Senior Home Care facility
Education
In education, Fresnedi said, the scholarship program for underprivileged kids has been expanded.
From a budget of P21.5 million in 2013, the scholarship fund has been increased to P2.3 billion this year. About 180,000 students have benefited from the scholarship program, he said.
Additional Child Development Centers were also constructed. In 2018, the Fresnedi administration opened the Colegio de Muntinlupa focusing on engineering courses.
Health
In health, according to Fresnedi, his administration built two additional rehabilitation centers and five additional health centers.
“We also implemented the renovation of the Ospital ng Muntinlupa. We expanded the capacity of the Emergency Room, Out Patient Department, and bed space capacity to 206 now to service more residents,” said Fresnedi.
The city government purchased new medical equipment such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine, anesthesia machines, cardiac monitors and dialysis equipment.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, he said, the city government implemented a “whole-city approach” wherein all government agencies worked together.
“I would like to take this opportunity to recognize our health workers and medical and non-medical frontliners. They are the true heroes of the modern times,” said Fresnedi.
Housing
Fresnedi thanked the city government’s development partners in building housing projects. They are the Gawad Kalinga, Manulife, Department of the Interior and Local Government, lntercontinental Development Corporation, Madrigal family, Shell, East Empire, National Housing Authority, Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor and Canada World of Housing Corporation.
With the help of partners, he said, the city government has allotted 127 housing units at GK Laguerta Centennial Village, 126 units at GK-Manulife in Soldiers Hills, Putatan, and 200 housing units at Harmony Ville, Cupang.
A total of 17 communities or 1,782 families were also assisted in the Interim Financing Program wherein the city government lent money to buy lands.
Economic Development
The mayor said 7,294 entrepreneurs were given zero-interest loans ranging from P3,000 to P150,000 under the Joint Resource Financing Program-Tulong Negosyo sa Munti. To date, P169.8 million has been given to the entrepreneurs.
Infrastructure
One of the Fresnedi administration’s major projects is the Centennial Avenue in Barangay Tunasan, which has the Muntinlupa police headquarters, City Health Office, Schools Division Office, Tunasan National High School, Laguerta Health Center, Laguerta Bulilit Center and GK Centennial Village.
Fresnedi cited the awards and commendations that Muntinlupa has received under his administration.
These are:
DTI Cities and Municipalities Competitiveness Index:
o Top 1 in Resilience Pillar in 2020 and 2021
o Top 5 Most Competitive Highly Urbanized City in the country in 2020 and 2021
o Top 3 in Government Efficiency pillar in 2017
Seal of Good Local Governance (2015 and 2019)
Good Financial Housekeeping (2015, 2020 and 2021)
ISO 9001:2008 certification in 2015 and 2016
Seal of Child-Friendly Local Governance in 2016 and 2017
Finalist in the Presidential Award for Child-Friendly Municipalities and Cities (2016)
PCCI Most Business-Friendly LGU in 2017 and 2018
Green Banner Award from the National Nutrition Council in 2018 and 2021
Jose Rizal Award from the Department of Health and Philippine Blood Center in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020
Red and White Orchid Award from DOH in 2018 and 2019
Rank 2 in Gawad Kalasag (2021)
Kampyeon ng Wika from the Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino (2015)
Runner-up in the 4th International Best Practice Competition from the Asian Productivity Organization and DAP (2015)
PRIME-HRM Bronze Award from the Civil Service Commission in 2021 and Excellent Rating, Compliance on Anti-Red Tape Act in 2016
“In all of what we have accomplished for Muntinlupa, I can say with my head held up high that ‘we are better off now’ compared to when we assumed office. Our residents have expressed appreciation and are satisfied with the programs and projects of the city government,” said Fresnedi.
Fresnedi thanked Biazon, Simundac, the Muntinlupa City Council, City Administrator Engr. Allan Cachuela, city officials and employees, and his family for their support.