18th founding anniv celebrated last month
FULL SUPPORT. Davao del Norte 2nd District Representative Antonio ‘Tonyboy’ Floirendo Jr expresses his full support on the extension of Martial Law in Mindanao after Congress granted the request of President Duterte to extend it until end of 2019. Floirendo said the deteriorating peace and order condition in Mindanao brought by the proliferation of lawless elements is a living testament that hampers the growth of the region. Lean Daval Jr
Re-electionist Rep. Antonio “Tonyboy” R. Floirendo Jr.
was lauded for his efforts in creating Panabo into a city 18 years ago.
Former Panabo mayor Ray Gavina told reporters that the establishment of the former first-class municipality of Davao del Norte into a city in 2001 vastly changed the lives of the people for the better.
Gavina recalled that upon assumption into office, Rep. Floirendo took note of the big improvements in the finances and social services enjoyed by the people as a result of the cityhood of Tagum and Samal Island through the initiative of former governor Rodolfo del Rosario, his uncle, prompting him to initiate moves in Congress to create Panabo into a city as well.
“The move to create Panabo City was not a walk in the park because at the time, then President Joseph ‘Erap’ Estrada declared a moratorium in the creation of new cities,” recalled Gavina, who was Panabo’s mayor for three terms.
“Once the opportunity to resume the move presented itself, Congressman Tonyboy sprang into action by immediately directing his staff and concerned personnel of Panabo to prepare the required documents,” the mayor said.
However, another stumbling block came up, according to Gavina. He said the House of Representatives did not have a budget needed to pay personnel who would render overtime in preparing the documents.
Upon being informed of the problem, Rep. Floirendo posthaste volunteered to handle the expenses from his personal money and so the presentation of the documents pushed through, beating the deadline set by the House leadership at the time.
As a result of its creation into a city, Panabo’s financial standing as a local government unit improved tremendously, Gavina said.
He said Panabo’s internal revenue allotment (IRA) alone jumped from P60 million to more than P200 million.
Its capacity to borrow money also increased tremendously, the former LGU chief said.
“Aside from increasing the budget for social services, Panabo was able to make loans to construct its city hall and purchase heavy equipment for infrastructure projects,” Gavina bared.
“Panabo is one of the most progressive cities in the country today and we owe this to a great extend to Congressman TonyBoy for working to make our former town a city,” Gavina said. (AMA)
