MANILA — A total of 267 reelectionist municipal and city mayors running unopposed or virtually unopposed have vowed to work double time for a landslide Team Unity victory by delivering most of the combined 5.6 million votes in their constituencies for the senatorial ticket, as part of their commitment to help President Arroyo fulfill her “social payback” agenda of accelerating economic growth and spreading its gains among the masa.
Tourism Secretary and TU spokesman Joseph Ace Durano said these 243 municipal mayors and 24 city mayors who are either running unopposed or have token challengers in this month’s elections have decided to back the entire Team Unity ticket and actively campaign for its victory.
Durano said in a news briefing at the TU campaign headquarters in Manila that these mayors have pointed out in a caucus at the Manila Hotel last Monday that they are backing all 12 Team Unity senatorial bets because of “their strong commitment to the ‘social payback’ program of President Arroyo and her government’s quest for national unity, unparalleled progress and greater political stability.”
The mayors who have thrown their full support to the 12 TU candidates include Mayor Ramon Guico of Binalonan, Pangasinan, who heads the League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP); Mary Joyce Roquero of Valderrama, Antique; Luis Ferrer IV of Gen. Trias, Cavite; Benjamin Bautista, Jr. of Malinta, Davao del Sur; Walter Echevarria of Gen. M. Alvarez, Cavite; Sumulong Sultan of Pikit, North Cotabato; Michael Cari of Baybay, Leyte; Ernesto Castaneda, Jr. of Lingayen, Pangasinan; Enrique Yap of Glan, Saranggani; Camilo Lammawin, Jr. of Tabuk, Kalinga; Roy Macanlalay of Calasiao, Pangasinan and John Rey Tabujara of Cauayan, Negros Occidental.
The city mayors, on the other hand, include Jerry Tre?as of Iloilo City who heads the League of Cities of the Philippines (LCP); Ramon Durano III of Danao City, Cebu; Pedro Zayco, Jr. of Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental; Eric Codilla of Ormoc City, Leyte; Arlene Zambo of Toledo City, Cebu; Reynaldo Parajinog, Sr. of Ozamis City, Misamis Occidental; Alexander Belena of San Jose City, Nueva Ecija; Florencio Flores of Malaybalay City, Bukidnon; Ruth Guingona of Gingoog City, Misamis Oriental and Alfredo Mara?on, Jr. of Sagay City, Negros Occidental.
“This 12-0 support from these mayors who are running unopposed or facing token challengers is yet another proof of the formidable grassroots support of Team Unity that will seal a big win for our senatorial candidates come May 14,” Durano said.
These mayors have pointed during the caucus, said Durano, that the absence of serious challengers to their reelection bids will afford them full time to campaign for the landslide win of Team Unity in their respective constituencies?”and thereby seal the economy’s route to high, if not unprecedented, growth for the remainder of the Arroyo presidency and onwards.”
Durano said the mayors noted during the Manila Hotel caucus that, as a result of the economic rebound on her watch, the President was able “to further strengthen local autonomy via the higher share of?and automatic release to?local government units (LGUs) of the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA), as well as the development of ‘mega regions,’ which will all the more accelerate countryside development.”
The mayors stressed that they were reaffirming their commitment to the pro-poor, pro-growth and pro-modernization “8 by ’08” program of President Arroyo by working doubly hard for the 12-0 victory of her Team Unity senatorial candidates in the May 14 polls, he said.
Recognizing the reforms painstakingly put in place by the President and her economic team, the reelectionist mayors noted during the caucus that these efforts have not only strengthened the Philippines’ macroeconomic fundamentals but also propelled the domestic economy to a record of more than 24 quarters of nonstop expansion.
“Both foreign and local institutions have cited the dramatic turnaround of our economy, powered by such positive indicators as the continued strengthening of the peso, a bullish stock market, lower debit servicing, surging dollar reserves and foreign direct investments, a more manageable inflation, and a lower-than-expected budgetary deficit,” Durano said.
Durano added that the subsequent economic turnaround has allowed President Arroyo to raise public spending on job-friendly programs and pro-poor basic services like education and healthcare, in keeping with the “social payback” component of her “8 by ’08” agenda.
Between 2004 and 2006, a total of P152 billion was released to 2.44 million beneficiaries of micro, small and medium enterprises, leading to 1.39 million new jobs. In the last six years on the Arroyo watch, 897,000 jobs per year were created against only 134,000 during the previous administration. Nine out of 10 working-age Filipinos are now employed.
Moreover, millions of underprivileged Filipinos can now enjoy quality health care and buy medicines at cheap prices following efforts by the Arroyo administration to speed up the implementation of the government’s PhilHealth program and its Botika ng Bayan projects. A record 6 million Filipinos received health insurance coverage through PhilHealth.
The textbook-to-student ratio improved from 1:5 under the previous administration to 1:1 on the Arroyo watch for 17 million public school students. School buildings for 607 school-less barangays and19, 433 classrooms were built while 8,409 classrooms were repaired from January 2001 to December 2006.
Starting this year, the government is investing heavily in infrastructure, with focus on the construction or repair of irrigation facilities, setting up of barangay food terminals, and establishment of postharvest facilities like cold storage centers, to raise rural productivity and the incomes of small farmers and fisherfolk.
The Arroyo administration will also complete the construction or upgrading of 17 ports this year, build eight new provincial airports, and implement 10 rail projects on top of providing new homes for over 64,000 families living in hazard-prone areas.
From an infrastructure budget of P129 billion in 2005, the Arroyo administration is now allocating double that amount this year at P261 billion, and an even higher P311 billion for 2008.###
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