Makati’s Acting Mayor Romulo Peña Jr. has vowed to pursue ‘transparent and good governance’ with his ‘Bagong Makati’ reform team after announcing his mayoralty bid.
Speaking before thousands of supporters, which included senior citizens, residents and officials from various barangays, city officials and other stakeholders of Makati, Peña underscored the gains resulting from initial reform mechanisms he put in place immediately upon assuming office.
“In just three months, we were able to undertake reforms within the city government aimed to curb corruption at all levels and safeguard the city’s resources against abuse and misuse, so that our constituents can, at long last, fully enjoy all the benefits and privileges we can afford to provide them,” Peña said. During his first State of the City Address at the Makati Coliseum.
He also said his administration has not only continued the city’s famous social programs, but has been able to enhance and expand these further for the greater benefit of city residents.
“I believe that if the city’s resources were used properly and prudently, we could deliver more and better services to a greater number of beneficiaries,” he added.
Jr The acting mayor noted a remarkable increase in the revenue collection of the city from business and realty taxes, which he said was a clear indication of the growing confidence of the business sector in the new city leadership. “It is highly probable that we will even surpass last year’s revenue collection and this year’s targets. We are heartened by the support and confidence shown by the business community,” Peña said.
Among the initial steps undertaken by the Peña administration was a review of the free cakes benefit under the senior citizens program of Makati, followed by the conduct of a transparent bidding process aided by modern technology through live TV coverage and online streaming.
“Today, our senior citizens celebrating their birthdays can enjoy tastier cakes with more variety of flavors, but at lesser cost to the city government, thanks to a very transparent and fair bidding process,” Peña said.
Aside from more delicious cakes, the city’s elderly also now enjoy personalized medical care through house-to-house visits being conducted by doctors from the Makati Health Department, and free delivery of vitamins and medicines to their homes so they no longer need to wait in line at designated pharmacy outlets.
The acting mayor also revealed his intention to increase the free medicines monthly allocation for each senior citizen from a half month to a full-month’s supply, especially of maintenance drugs.
Meanwhile, a recent audit on the BLU Card program for the elderly revealed the existence of ‘ghost senior citizens’ who have been receiving benefits, including semi-annual cash gifts, but could not be found at the given address.
“We are replicating the audit among city government employees also in order to weed out ‘ghosts’, particularly those who only show up to claim their salaries every 15th and 30th of each month at City Hall,” Peña said.