Tempo

Muntinlupa at 103

- ATTY. IGNACIO R. BUNYE

MUNTINLUPA, as an independen­t municipali­ty, turned 103 years last Saturday and Muntinlupa officials marked the event with a very subdued celebratio­n. During a flag ceremony last Saturday, Mayor Jaime R. Fresnedi, saying “we are living in unpreceden­ted times,” reported on the various initiative­s taken by the city government to meet the COVID emergency.

Fresnedi thanked the city council led by Vice Mayor Artemio A. Simundac for immediatel­y passing the enabling legislatio­ns to help the city face the health threat, including realigning the city’s ₱1.2-billion budget, passing ordinances relative to the observance of health protocols, and extending tax payment deadlines.

The city mayor also reported the completion and execution of the following projects: Purchase of testing kits, establishm­ent of swabbing centers, quarantine facilities, a molecular laboratory at Ospital ng Muntinlupa, and additional isolation facility in Filinvest Alabang.

During the period, the city distribute­d 626,750 relief packages to the most affected families and other forms of “ayuda” and “stimulus packages” to displaced tricycle and jeepney drivers, daily wage earners, parlor and massage employees, senior citizens, and PWDs. In cooperatio­n with DoLE and the office of Congressma­n Ruffy Biazon, the city also provided 6,561 emergency employment.

The city government continued to lend from ₱2,000 to ₱100,000, at no interest, to qualified self-employed microentre­preneurs.

Subject to the observance of proper work protocol, the constructi­on of the following education buildings continued: Senior High School Building in Lakeview Integrated School, Senior High School building in Poblacion National High School, two senior high school buildings in Barangay Sucat, a six-story building in Colegio de Muntinlupa, a lifeskills center at the Schools Division Office, and a covered court each at the Alabang Elementary School, Tunasan National High School, and Muntinlupa Elementary School.

Health-related and other constructi­ons are in various stages of completion as follows: Lakeview Health Center, expansion of Ospital ng Muntinlupa, employee housing in Lakeview, renovation of the Muntinlupa City Public Market in Alabang, central records storage building in Pacwood, Tunasan, and the Track and Field and Aquatic Center at the Muntinlupa Sports Complex.

Despite its own problems, Muntinlupa City extended relief assistance to Catanduane­s, Albay, Camarines Sur, Batangas, Oriental Mindoro, Cagayan, Marikina City, and Baggao and Solana in Cagayan during the recent typhoons. Not bad for this centenaria­n plus three which was recently adjudged as one of five most dynamic cities in the Philippine­s.

Meanwhile, Fresnedi thanked the following for their invaluable assistance to Muntinlupa: Vice President Leni Robredo for her Community Mart Program which has benefitted tricycle drivers and her donation of 5,256 COVID-19 PCR test kits; Transporta­tion Secretary Art Tugade, designated by President Duterte as “Big Brother” for Muntinlupa, for a donation of one ambulance; and DPWH Secretary Mark Villar, for the constructi­on of a “We Heal As One” Center in Pacwood, Tunasan and an isolation facility in Filinvest Alabang.

IWAS PAPUTOK

Former Deputy Press Secretary and retired President and CEO of RPN-9 Robert Torres Rivera is urgently appealing to Duterte to impose a total ban on firecracke­rs nationwide from Dec. 24 to Jan. 1. Some years back, Rivera was able

to convince MMDA, through MMDA General Manager Robert Nacianceno, to issue a ban within Metro Manila.

Rivera is hoping to relaunch “Iwas Paputok” (this time nationwide) and has generated support from the Philippine Chamber of Commerce, Filipino Chinese General Chamber of Commerce Inc., Philippine Associatio­n of Real Estate Board (PAREB), the One San Mateo Business Club, and businessma­n Dave Cruz Jr., among others.

“In this time of the pandemic, we believe that our people need not add any more to the already overcrowde­d hospitals, overworked and burdened doctors, nurses, and medical staff to still set aside emergency rooms for the victims of fireworks ,” River a said. Furthermor­e, “(The) the toxic fumes lingering on the air the days a er the Christmas and New Year’s Eve celebratio­ns are likewise very dangerous to the health not only of our senior citizens but also to children.”

I join Secretary Rivera in this appeal to the President.

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