Mayor Joy urges QC employees to level up delivery of service to residents

Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte has urged the local government employees to level up their delivery of service to QCitizens as the city received a lot of blessings for the year 2023.

She made her call during the Christmas Tree lighting ceremony at the Quezon City Hall compound on Wednesday, Nov. 14.

During the event, Quezon City Vice Mayor Gian Sotto shared some of the city's achievements for the year 2023.

These include the award as most outstanding mayor in the country;  the "unqualified opinion" from the Commission on Audit (COA); and the city council's recognition as the Most Outstanding Sangguniang Panlungsod in the National Capital Region in the 2023 Local Legislative Award (LLA) for the performance period of July 2019 to June 2022.

The city government earlier announced that Belmonte was cited by the Saludo Excellence Awards as the "National Outstanding Mayor of the Year" for her dedication in serving QCitizens.

She was also named as one of the resilience champions by the National Resilience Council (NRC) for her initiatives to promote community-based urban farming programs for the residents as a response to food insecurity.

The City Council was hailed as the "Most Outstanding Sangguniang Panlungsod" in the National Capital Region in the 2023 Local Legislative Award (LLA) after it got the rating of 99.5 percent based on the assessment of the Regional Awards Committee of the LLA.

It was cited for its achievements, introduction of innovative concepts and practices that improved the implementation of initiatives, particularly in formulating legislation that is responsive to the different needs of local communities in the city.

In June, the city government got the "unqualified opinion", the highest audit rating, from the  COA on its 2022 annual audit report

An "unqualified opinion" was given by the COA to a public institution when its auditor concludes that all the financial statements are prepared in accordance to an applicable financial framework.

"This year has been the best year for us as a city government. Talagang walang kaduda-duda  since 2023 set in, napakarami nating biyayang natanggap sa Panginoon. God has blessed our city so much no (There is absolutely no doubt since 2023 set in, we have received many blessings from the Lord. God has blessed our city so much)," Belmonte said.

"But all of that, of course, was given to us by God because He blesses our city. Tayo po ay nakatanggap ng biyaya sa Panginoon dahil tayo po ay isang mahusay na lungsod. Marami tayong nagagawa para sa ating mga mamamayan. Marami akong nakikita na mga tao na laging nagpapasalamat dahil nararamdaman nila ang pagmamahal ng ating lungsod, and of course that it's because of all of you, the employees of our city government 
(We have received grace from the Lord because we are a great city. We do a lot for our citizens. I see many people who are always grateful because they feel the love of our city, and of course that it's because of all of you, the employees of our city government)," she added.

The mayor also challenged the local  government employees to make the residents feel the love of God, as well as the care from the city, every time they see them.

"Level up the love we share to our people. Let's level up the sharing, the caring. Let's level up our service to our people," the mayor told the city hall employees.

"Kailangan kapag may mga nangangailan, huwag natin ipagkait ang ating serbisyo sa kanila, pagmamahal sa kanila ang ating pagkalinga sa kanila because that is what Christmas is really all about (It is necessary when there are those in need, we should not deny our service to them, our love for them is our care because that is what Christmas is really all about)," she added.

Different city government departments also recieved recognitions from award-giving bodies for their excellence in providing services to QCitizens.

Belmonte and Sotto also thanked the city government for their dedication and sacrifices in providing the services to the QCitizens which led for the city to get various achievements this year.

"This city will not be the city that it is, the great city that it is, without all of you," Belmonte said.

"In our own small way, I think we are contributing to the development of our country, kasi (because), we are just one city out of one thousand plus local government units, that's true, but we are really a top performing city. We're doing very very well," she added.

"What is beautiful with our city (is) it's a big city. So if we accomplish many things, we are in a position also to teach others because, sabi nga nila (as they say), to whom much is given, much is expected," the mayor said.

The mayor also said that the local government aims to build beautiful parks for the residents.

She encouraged the city government employees to bring their families to the parks to bond and spend time with them.

Before the Christmas Tree and other decorations were lit, different chorale and dance groups performed during the event.

Present during the event were the Quezon City councilors, City Hall employees, members of the Quezon City Police District, barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan officials.