‘STARTING THE YEAR RIGHT’: Mayor vows to ‘sustain city’s progress’ in 2023

By John Noel E. Herrera

Iloilo City Mayor Jerry P. Treñas vowed to level up the city government’s performance for 2023 and sustain the progress and recognition that the city achieved in 2022.

“Let us do better this year. Let us get inspiration from each other as we bring Iloilo City to the next level,” Treñas said in a statement.

“Let us see to it that the salaries and benefits given by the people of the city of Iloilo are well spent. Let us put in 100 percent of our efforts to improve services in our city,” he added.

The city mayor also kicked off the first day of work in 2023 by holding a meeting with all executive assistants and department heads of the city hall to check their plans and programs for the year, as he wanted all officials to be focused.

“We do this because gusto ta mag-level-up man ang services sang syudad, parehas sang aton nga gina-ubra subong, like (the) I-CARE, pagpakay-o sang iban pa nga facilities naton. Ang ginaubra ta is for Iloilo City to really bring the services directly to the people para hindi na mabudlay,” Treñas said in a press conference on Tuesday, Jan 3, 2023.

Treñas added that he would call a meeting for all department heads every Monday to discuss their plans and add input on all the projects of the city government.

“This is to know nga kinahanglan quantifiable ang targets sang kada isa ka departments, kita niyo kada isa preparado na and sa dason semana lain naman nga departments to present their plans and projects and para ang iban makahatag man inputs,” he said.

During the first meeting, four departments had already finished presenting their plans for 2023, as well as their accomplishments for 2022, which include the City Agriculture Office, City Tourism Office, Iloilo City Anti-Smoking Taskforce, Local Civil Registrar, and MICE Center.

The Local Civil Registrar department, in particular, presented its Birth Registration Assistance and Mobile Birth Registration projects which will help individuals, especially indigent people, to process their birth certificates and avail the documents for free.

Meanwhile, the City Tourism Office also presented its planned Amoma Ilonggo Tourism Hospitality project which will help “establish and propagate the Ilonggo brand of customer service for the visitors.”

“We plan to have this to have a local tourism industry that is strongly anchored on this Ilonggo value with globally competent service. So we will be having workshops, training for the tourism frontliners para ang culture of tourism in the city ara gid sa tanan,” City Tourism Office head Junel Anne Divinagracia said.

The tourism office will also be having a Tourism Roadshow and Digital Tourism Flipbook that will further promote the tourism industry of Iloilo City not just locally but internationally, and guide potential tourists who want to visit the city.

Treñas also said that he is satisfied with the presentation of the first four departments, and hopes that 2023 will bring new chances, dreams, and aspirations for the city and all the Ilonggos.