Official Website of Panabo City

Three years ago, we published to the people of Panabo City a bold declaration of our vision and mission, our developmental objectives and targets and the kind of governance that we intend to deliver as local candidates of the Lakas – CMD party for the 2007 elections.

In that platform of government, we promised to exercise the will, the determination, the agility and the power necessary to pursue our commitment to improve the quality of life of Panaboans and to secure a bright future for our beloved city. The three-year mandate fatefully given to us by the majority of our electorate is almost over and now is the time to account ourselves to the judgment of the people. In this paper, we will render to you a report of our achievements vis-à-vis our stated objectives and also the programs and directions we aim to pursue.

STATE OF THE CITY

Our City has undergone significant transformations that can only be attributed to rapid economic growth. The progress that we can see from the physical structures sprouting in our communities and the benefits derived from them has been achieved through effective teamwork of our executive and legislative branches and the dynamic partnership with the private sectors. If our city revenue be used as a yardstick to measure our progress, we can say that we have economically grown by great bounds. Our annual income from general fund by the end of 2006 was P324.4 million. For 2010 we projected our income to be P455 million or an increase of P130 million. Our income from the operation of our economic enterprises rose from P20.0 million in 2006 to a projected revenue of P35.0 million by 2010

The harmonious relationship among your elected officials brought about the realization of the long-anticipated reorganization of the personnel structure of the City Government. This milestone achievement of the 4th City Council through the able stewardship of Vice Mayor James G. Gamao paved the way for the standardization of positions and salary rates of City employees. With the recent adoption of the CITIZENS CHARTER the delivery of services will be improved by reducing bureaucratic red tape and preventing malfeasance in the frontline services

The City Government of Panabo, under the enlightened leadership of Atty. Jose L. Silvosa, Sr. over the past 3-year period have served as the driving force of change and development. The Mayor’s unwavering determination to instill professionalism in public service and his innovative ways in getting support from national and international agencies, civic-minded citizens and organizations effectively addressed the Party’s priorities and objectives outlined in its platform of government offered to the Panaboans.

OUR OBJECTIVES, ACCOMPLISHMENTS

AND THRUST FOR DEVELOPMENT

Our party’s vision for a desirable future for Panabo City is to have a planned and directed change so that there would be a balanced growth in our urban and rural communities. Our tract record of performance during our three-year term will show that we have been faithful in our mission of delivering the City’s services equitably to the citizenry – farmers, fisher folks, entrepreneurs, workers, housewives, the youth, the elderly and the economically disadvantaged sectors of our community.

Our allocation of the City’s resources, we believe have effectively addressed the priorities we have identified and installed continuing programs that will provide economic opportunities for everyone.

1. Mobility and Accessibility

Upon assumption of office, we undertook immediate rehabilitation of our primary farm to market roads and bridges. Year round maintenance of these vital facilities enabled our farmers to now enjoy traveling class ‘A’ all-weather gravel roads. Road building equipments composed of one grader, one road roller/compactor, two backhoe/excavators and three dump trucks were purchased to further improve our road building/ road maintenance capability

In the urban area, we paved our City roads with concrete and asphalt totaling 3,585 meters. Recently we acquired a two hectare property at Datu Abdul and now we are developing it to serve as our Motor pool garage and repair shop for the maintenance of our equipments and service vehicles. Inside this property we intend to put up an asphalt batching plant so that at the earliest time, we can have all our City streets and even population centers in the rural barangays paved with asphalt.

2. Drainage and Flood Control

With the mobilization of the newly acquired backhoes, flooding in our low lying areas in the urban center will now be a thing of the past. Aside from daily desilting and dredging operations, a canal squad was organized to maintain regular declogging of our drainage systems. Construction and rehabilitation of box culverts and concreting of our main canals were undertaken.

3. Marketing and Commerce

Determined actions to decongest and regulate clutter and indiscriminate vending have resulted in a more orderly arrangement in our public markets. Doing our marketing is now more pleasurable and less stressful. Our wet market roads are now paved and less muddy.

We are still aiming to convert our 5 hectare Central Market into a modern commercial complex. We shall realize this once we are able to acquire a larger lot that is easily accessible and ideal for development into an integrated public market and transport terminal that would be viable for the long term.

We established Bagsakan Centers in the rural barangays to help our farmers in their marketing needs. The bagsakan center at our Mariculture Park have in two and half years traded 1.5 million kilograms of bangus, generating income of 130 million pesos to our investors.

Vigorous efforts to attract investors paid off that from 3 demo cages in 2007, our fish cages now members to 303. Our Mariculture Park has been rated Class ‘A’ by the DA-BFAR and said to be the best in the entire country. We aim to increase the number of cages to 600 in the next three years.

Trade delegations from Middle East, USA and neighboring countries have visited our park. It is our goal to have pre/post harvest facilities and processing plants so that we shall soon be exporting Panabo bangus and other high value fishes to other countries. We also aim to make our Mariculture Park into a major tourist attraction in the City. Our coral reef marine sanctuary will be opened as a dive site among scuba enthusiast and could generate investment opportunities for Panaboans.

Taking cognizance that commerce and industry serve as the engine for growth, the City Council enacted the 2009 local Tax Code providing an increase of only 10% over the previous tax code enacted 17 years ago. Our business establishment now numbers more than 4700 with 830 new business openings in 2009. In 2010, we expect an increase of 1000. We have identified two strategically located barangays as nodal centers for commerce and growth in the rural areas. We aim to expand the vitality of commerce and industry to our rural barangays so that the benefits of development will be shared by everyone. We have created the Investments Office to promote and attract more investors to our city.

4. Water Supply

Domestic water is now abundantly available in the urban area supplied by three pumping stations of the City Water District. Improvements in the filtration system have enhanced the drinking quality of our water supply. Six rural barangays enjoyed level III water system and another 5 barangays having level II water system. Thru the sponsorship of the members of the City Council, a total of Php 1.5 million were invested to install jetmatic pumps and deep wells in the different puroks of the city.

5. Public Cemetery

The City is in the process of acquiring a 5 hectare lot that shall be developed into a new cemetery-cum-memorial park. Meanwhile the access road leading to the existing cemetery site have been concrete paved and wide walkways were constructed so that interring and visiting the departed relatives is now less tedious than before

6. Family Income, Livelihood and Employment

In our thrust to provide economic opportunities to our rural residents, the City government through the City Agriculture office was able to extend P8.4 million assistance to 642 marginal farmers for various income generating projects. These are in the form of inland fish culture, livestock and broiler raising, seed and fertilizer subsidies to rice growers, corn and vegetable production and food processing. Likewise under the city poverty reduction program 800 housewives were given livelihood skills training and soft loans amounting to more than Php 2.16 million were granted through different barangay Councils of Women and other women associations of the city.

We have put up an Agri-Demo Project at ATI, Datu Abdul. This multipurpose facility serves as demonstration area for production of high value vegetables, rabbit, goat and swine raising and vermiculture. Inside the facility, is a plant nursery and Pest and Disease Diagnostic Laboratory. The venue have served as training facility for farmers and agriculture students

We are able to purchase one farm tractor that is now helping our farmers cultivate their fields under the plow now pay upon harvest scheme. We are going to obtain soon one additional tractor thru DA grant. We have earmarked P15.7 million loan grant from the Land Bank of the Philippines for the purchase of more farming equipments and facilities to improve our agriculture production and enhance the lives of our farmers.

Through our public employment service program, our PESO office was able to provide job placements to more that 2,000 new entries to the labor force, about 300 of them were for overseas jobs. It is also noteworthy that the City Mayor successfully negotiated with the management of the newly opened Gaisano Mall for the hiring of our youth workers that comprises 98% of the more than 300 workforce of that establishment.

We have established the Night Market project that now benefited about a hundred small vendors as well as enliven our city night life.

The operation of our Mariculture Park provided stable income opportunities to hundreds of our seaside residents. They are now gainfully employed as cage caretakers, harvesters, banca and cage makers and women net repairers.

7. Health and Social Welfare

Our city health services have continuously earned exemplary recognition in providing nutrition and primary health services. Our City last year earned the distinction as national Hall of Famer in the field of nutrition. We have been a consistent National Sandugo Awardee of the PNRC. In 2009, our city was awarded as Garantisadong Pambata Champ in the national search by the Department of Health. Our hardworking rural midwives got national attention among medical practitioners with their good practice entry in Strengthening the Practice of Skilled Birth Attendance at the Periphery: the Panabo City Experience was presented during GP Summit in Puerto Princesa last July 25-26, 2009

Our medical and dental outreach service is vigorously pursued jointly by our personnel from the City Health Office and the Mayor’s Office. In year 2009, a total of 9,274 patients benefited from the 49 outreach projects covering all the barangay of the city. The Lions Club of Panabo donated also a total 1,386 eyeglasses that were given free in one of the medical and dental outreach last August 2009. We have established more Botica sa Barangays that increase the number of our basic health providers.

Our goal of improving further our heath care system will be realized with the operation of our Emergency and Surgical Clinic and Safe Birthing Facility. This 7.5 million peso facility will operate on 24-hour basis and manned by additional doctors, nurses and midwives as embodied in our city reorganization plan.

We shall also purchase two new ambulances to support our emergency health services. Hospital beds and vital medical and laboratory equipments were made available from donations abroad through the initiative of the Rotary Club of Central Panabo.

We have invested over P5.0 million for the construction and repair of our Barangay Health Centers citywide for the past three years.

Care for our elderly, the underprivileged youth, the physically and economically disadvantage citizens is among the priority concerns of the present administration. In 2009 a total of 750 indigent families were enrolled in our PHILHEALTH Program. An annual average of P1.0 million is extended as burial assistance for our departed senior citizens. Cash assistance worth P 1.5 million were distributed though our CSWD office who also conducts various regular programs to enliven the lives of our elderly. Our social welfare office extends support to our women and mothers in crisis in the form of conflict settlement, referrals, counseling, rescues and limited financial or food assistance. We have extended soft loans amounting to P960 thousand for self employment projects of our poor but deserving mothers.

The city early childhood care program is carried out through our Day Care Centers in all barangays. P2.4 million was spent for the construction of day care centers citywide. The Kiwanis Club of Panabo has opened their library building as Day Care center for New Pandan preschoolers. Our young adults organized under PAG-ASA Youth Associations are provided continuous values formation activities and livelihood skills training. Our program for wayward children under the Angel Barachael facility shall be improved by providing them with a larger facility that will enable them to continue formal education and teach them vocational skills so that we can transform them into productive members of society.

8. Public Safety

Our city continues to enjoy a relatively peaceful environment marked with reduction of violent and petty crimes that are incidental to a growing community. We have established the Public Safety Office to coordinate and support the efforts of our PNP in maintaining order and security in our public places. Our crime solution rate is comparatively high that can be credited to the efficiency of our peace officers with the support of our citizens and the city government. Police mobility was enhanced by the donation of two patrol cars donated by the local Davao Light and Power Company. The city government purchased communication units to augment our monitoring capability. The City Disaster Coordinating Council have revitalized our RECON group and supplied members who composed mostly of businessmen with handheld radio communications and they have now effectively reduced cases of theft and robbery in our markets and in other places of business. We aim to invest more in our emergency response capability by purchasing seaborne rescue and patrol crafts and equipments to protect our marine waters from illegal activities and natural calamities.

9. Housing

As our population grows, demand for housing units increases. For this consideration, the city government recently enacted the revised Comprehensive Land Use Plan that will provide the direction for a rational human settlements program. With the reorganization program, we have created the City Housing Office that will assist our investors in their housing projects. A total of 15 new housing projects have been granted license to sell so that our housing need in the immediate future will be adequately meet. Our problem on informal settlers was greatly mitigated by the donation of home lots to 65 squatter families by the Floirendo Family in their property at San Vicente.

10. Environment and Ecosystem Management

Our concern for the environment is formally addressed with the creation of the City Environment and Natural Resources Office under the reorganization plan.

Our garbage collection is handled by the respective barangay units and by the CENRO in other public places like our public markets and plazas. Strict implementation of our littering and garbage disposal ordinance has resulted into cleaner public places and orderliness of our dumpsite. Education and information campaigns on waste segregation, disposal and recycling have been conducted by the combine team from CENRO and the Mayors Office in all urban barangays. Likewise, enforcement teams that give “teeth” to waste management ordinance have been organized and mobilized in every barangay.

We have put up a nursery at the ATI compound that is expected to provide seedlings for our greenbelt program. We are undertaking mangrove rehabilitation project in our coastlines. More than 3,000 mangrove seedlings have been planted by ecology minded citizens and school youths this year. Our government places great emphasis in the preservation of our vulnerable coastal areas due to the destructive effects of climate change. Cases have been filed against those who continue to disregard our environmental laws.

To educate upland farmers of the correct farming technologies for hilly farms the City in coordination with NEDA/PCARRD/USEP have embarked with project Barangay Sagip Lupa or Conservation Farming Villages. Eighty Two farmers from barangays San Roque, Katualan and Mabunao are participating in this model hilly land agriculture in their respective farm lots totaling 90 hectares. The farmers will practice conservation farm technologies that when realized will serve as models for other upland farmers to adopt. Our goal is to develop our mountainous/hilly lands to be more productive at the same time protect us from disasters like flashfloods and landslides that are now frequently occurring in other places of the country.

11. Tourism and Recreation

We have completed the renovation works of the old City Hall for conversion into a City Museum. A Heritage Committee has been organized to spearhead the efforts to collect and display museum exhibits so that it can be opened to the public.

Our city has landed in the sports map of the country by our regular hosting of the PBA Games. This twice yearly event is made possible through our partnership with the Rotary Club of Central Panabo.

Our tourism program is yet at its infancy. To help it grow into an industry, we have created the City Tourism Office and organized the City Tourism Council. Soon, we shall be able to hold an annual cultural festival similar to Sinulog of Cebu or the Kaamulan Festival of Bukidnon even as we continue to conduct cultural and recreation festivities during our Araw ng Panabo Celebrations.

Through the sponsorship of our City Councilors more than P 12.0 Million were invested in constructing covered courts, basketball goals and stages. We shall continue to invest and promote activities and projects that would support the sports and recreational needs of our citizenry.

12. Education and Human Resource Development

Support to education in our public elementary and high schools focused on the rehabilitation and construction of school buildings and facilities. Over P 9.0 million were spent for repairs and renovations. Twelve new school buildings has been scheduled for construction. Our goal is to reduce the present number of pupil-to-classroom ratio of 48:1 to 40-45 pupils per classroom. In our concern for the proper emotional and social development of preschool children and to ease the burden of child rearing of mothers 14 additional Day Care Centers were established at the purok level.

Subsidized college education for our poor but academically deserving high school graduates is provided to 110 enrollees who enjoy free tuition and stipend in any universities in the region. Thirty of these scholars come from our indigenous and muslim community.

We have created the Office for Muslim Affairs and the Office for Indigenous Peoples to enable them to actively participate in the affairs of government and to have representation for their special concerns.

Our objective of rendering more efficient delivery of services to our constituents started off with the reorganization of our city manpower resources. We shall be relentless in our efforts of strengthening our city’s service capability by making our personnel force become competent and ideal public servants.

PANABO CITY 2010 – 2013

Shared vision, unity of purpose and synergy in work by your elected officials enabled us to accomplish much in the short time we are in service.

The road map to the future for our city has been outlined in our Platform of Government we presented in the 2007 elections. Upon assumption to office, we concretized this goals into Executive-Legislative agenda defining the priority programs and projects we intend to pursue during our 3-year term.

To date, we gladly report that we have accomplished 90% of our projects with 10% already in the various stages of completion. Programs for sustained development have been put into place in our annual implementation plans and in the program plans of our city line departments.

Major projects we intend to pursue for our next term if reelected into office include the following:

1. Establishment of Public Wharf and Fish Port at San Pedro ---

The design and pre-engineering activities for this project that include reclamation work for terminal facilities are already completed. This investment is financially viable due to the presence of large banana growers like Lapanday Fruits for their exports and our mariculture park investors for their storage and post-harvest facilities.

2. Coastal Road Development ----

This P 180 million project will include the concreting of our existing 3-kilometer road from San Pedro to J.P. Laurel and the putting up of concrete seawall that will make our coastal road into boulevard type highway. Acquisition of road right of way in Cagangohan and J.P. Laurel is almost completed and construction works will immediately be started since funding from the national government have already been negotiated by the City Mayor.

3. Maharlika Highway Diversion Road----

This project will involve the opening, widening and concreting of our road network from J.P. Laurel to Salvacion passing through Gredu and New Visayas. Technical survey has already been undertaken and submitted to the DPWH who agreed to include our proposal in their implementation plan in the next two years.

Once realized, together with the upgraded coastal road, we shall have a circumferential road system that will expand our central business district and at the same time ease the traffic on the Maharlika Highway.

4. Establishment of a new Integrated Public Market and Transport Terminal----

We shall develop a new public market with PUJ terminal along the proposed diversion road that will meet the needs of our growing city in the next decades. We have identified potential sites for this purpose. Funding for this project will be generated from the conversion of our existing markets into commercial complex with the participation of private investors.

5. Establishment of a new Public Cemetery–cum– Memorial Park -----

The City will develop a memorial park type cemetery on a 5-hectare land that is now targeted for acquisition. The proposed site is ideally located and accessible so that the returns–on–investment is highly feasible as an economic enterprise and at the same time solve our existing problem of congestion in the old cemetery site.

6. Improvement of our City Road Network-----

The concreting/asphalting of our city streets will be vigorously pursued including the improvement of our drainage system. New roads that will interconnect our rural barangays shall be opened. Barangay roads shall be developed into all weather road facilities.

7. Recreation and Eco-tourism Promotion-----

The city park will be developed by redesigning its present structure to enhance its image and utility so that spending our leisure time in the park will be more pleasurable and safe.

We shall develop our mangrove areas and our mariculture park into eco-tourism sites. Portions of our coastal road will be made into a baywalk park with ornamental streetlights. Additional sports facilities shall be constructed at our sports complex site at J.P. Laurel.

8. Land Banking and Equipment Pool-----

The City shall endeavor to acquire more lands to meet our current and future needs for social housing and our institutional needs like schools and other government facilities.

We shall continue to invest in acquiring equipments for our road building, garbage disposal, construction and transport needs to further enhance the service capability of our City.

OUR CONTINUING COMMITMENT

We look to 2010-2013 as another banner period for growth in our City’s infant history. We are firm in our resolve to provide the dynamism for development and progress into making our city as one of our country’s best place to live in.

In view thereof, we are submitting ourselves to the will of the people adhering to the maxim “Vox populi, Vox Dei”.