In what was her valedictory State of the City Address (SOCA) on Thursday, Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio officially bid goodbye to Dabawenyos.
The adieu brought back memories of her father President Rodrigo Duterte’s farewell speech in 2016.
“However, today — allow me to formally — and with a heavy heart — say farewell. Tuguti ko ninyo nga manamilit kaninyo. Nga mananghid kaninyo. I have been called to join the race for a bigger challenge. This is a challenge that gives me the opportunity to spread my wings wider, to soar higher, and reach new heights —with the support of our fellow Filipinos — for our beloved country,” the mayor said.
The mayor assured that she will leave with Davao City buoyed by a stronger economy, a stronger citizenry, with programs and services institutionalized to ensure continuity.
“A city that has so much more potential for greatness. And I am confident that whoever will lead the city in the coming months will be able to sustain, if not surpass, what we have achieved, and take Davao City even higher,” she said.
The mayor said Davao City may have experienced exhilarating highs and suffered blows, and yet, Dabawenyos continue to stand stronger, more resilient, and more ready to face the future. A few months before she leave City Hall, the mayor enumerated what the city government of Davao has accomplished and still needs to be completed under her leadership.
From 2016 to 2021, the city government of Davao spent a total of P8.2 Billion sourced from the Annual Development Fund for both infrastructure and non-infrastructure projects. From this amount, the city has completed over 3,000 infrastructure projects, including 1,424 roads, 51 bridges, 180 school buildings, 63 office buildings, 44 barangay halls, 84 health centers, nine police stations, 748 irrigation and canal projects, 172 water systems, 11 electrification projects, and 669 other structures.
The city government of Davao expanded the existing Lingap Para sa Mahirap Program that helps Dabawenyos with their hospital bills, opened Lingap satellite offices outside the city through satellite offices in Paquibato and Bunawan in the Second District and Marilog and Toril in the Third District. The city also opened the Mental Wellness Center for the Homeless facility inside SPMC.
Key facilities that the city government of Davao were able to build because of the Covid-19 pandemic are the Covid-19 Cluster Clinics, Los Amigos Molecular Laboratory and the Davao City Crematorium at the Wireless Cemetery. The city is also building the Tagakpan cemetery that has designated areas for Muslims and Christians.
For the Waste-To-Energy facility, the city has partnered with the Department of the Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and secured P740 Million of the needed P3.5 Billion to supplement the available Japanese grant while the loan processing for the High Priority Bus System is ongoing. The city has also rolled out two routes for the Interim Bus Service (IBS) last year, with 20 buses currently serving the riding public.
Mayor Sara reported that the city has signed a Memorandum of Agreement with the Bureau of Plant Industry for the use of their property in Bago Oshiro as the site of the City College of Davao. The city government of Davao has allocated P250,000,000.00 from the 2022 Annual Development Fund for the land development of the Davao City Public Hospital.
Mayor Sara enumerated the 118 awards and citations received by the city in various facets of governance and service from 2016 to 2021 that include ‘One of the Best Cities in the Philippines’ today, the 4th Most Competitive Highly Urbanized City in the 2021 Cities and Municipalities Competitiveness Index (CMCI), Davao City was third in terms of infrastructure, government efficiency, and economic dynamism, and sixth in terms of resiliency; regularly recognized by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) with the Seal of Good Local Governance and the Seal of Good Financial Housekeeping, 8th richest city in the country in 2020 with total assets amounting to P23 billion, according to the 2020 Annual Financial Report released by the Commission on Audit (COA) on 22 December 2021, and the biggest city in the Philippines in terms of land area – a sprawling 2,443 square kilometers – an area nearly four times bigger than the total land area of the entire NCR.
She said the city government of Davao has directed its efforts to building more infrastructure, enhancing revenue generation efforts, strengthening security and improving the delivery of social services, while also continuously learning, embarking on business and tourism missions, and forging partnerships with other cities and localities abroad.
Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, the mayor said Davao City had a total combined revenue of P10,434,193,222.19 which is 39.8 percent higher than its pre-pandemic revenues. Of this amount, P4,420,991,524.63 was generated by local sources.
She added that over the years, the city government of Davao contracted loans to finance major projects for the development of the city.
“As we continue to implement the projects, we have also been allocating ample budget every year to diligently pay back our loans,” she said.
According to her, this year, the city has allocated P46,706,000 in the 2022 budget to cover the remaining loan balance and by the end of the first half of Calendar Year 2022, Davao City will be debt-free.
“For the past five years, by building the necessary infrastructure, by boosting our income generation and by keeping our communities safe, we have made a stronger Davao,” she said.
For Mayor Sara, the real strength of Davao City, the backbone of any community, are the Dabawenyos.
“We acknowledge that a stronger citizenry can only be achieved when there are ample social services available for all sectors. And so, for the past five years we doubled our efforts so that each individual Dabawenyo is empowered – with employment and social services – especially for the disadvantaged, so that as the city continues to soar, no Dabawenyo is left behind,” she said.
Looking back on the past years, Mayor Sara said she is buoyed by the indomitable spirit of the Dabawenyos, young and old, rich and the needy, men and women, who refused to give up and surrender to anything that comes their way.
“But we have embodied strength. We have embodied resiliency. We have embodied courage. We rejected those who made us doubt in ourselves. We rejected those who told us that we cannot make it. We rejected those who wanted to see us on our knees defeated. As Dabawenyos — to surrender is not in our blood. Winning is in our flesh,” she said.
The mayor concluded her SOCA by thanking all the Dabawenyos, her family, private sector, national government and agencies, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Poice (PNP), and all officials, Hugpong Ng Pagbabago (HNP) and the employees of the city government of Davao for their love and trust.
“For the Dabawenyos, your patience in letting me grow from a shy neophyte in 2007 to a confident leader today is a gift not all public servants are lucky enough to receive. You gave me wings and you taught me how to fly. Your love made me who I am today. To my family, thank you for the neverending support. Sa tanang opisyal ug empleyado sa lokal na kagamhanan sa siyudad sa Davao, sa tanang akong nakatrabaho, sa tanang mga volunteers ug mga nitabang kanako aron matuman ang atong mga pangandoy — salamat. Daghang salamat sab sa private sector, national government agencies and offices, sectoral groups, the diplomatic community, the AFP and the PNP, Hugpong ng Pagbabago, ug tanan kaigsuonan kong Dabawenyo — sa iyong pagsalig, sa inyong kaayo, sa inyong pagmahal, ug sa inyong pagkuyog kanako sa Byaheng DO30. Dabawenyos desire the best and serving you is like serving a god that can never be pleased. My work gave me nightmares and mental anguish but it’s been an honor — a great, great honor — to have been chosen by you. And it’s been a pleasure to make not only memories with you — but also history,” Mayor Sara said.
