‘SALAMAT, TAXPAYERS’

In the first two years of his term as city mayor, Mercado has given San Pedrenses more than a hint of what it is like to be at par with the more progressive cities in Metro Manila and Laguna province.

His administration’s focus on expanding social services – with a primary focus on healthcare, education and social amelioration – has given his constituents more trust and confidence in his abilities to turn the city into a socio-economic powerhouse in the province.

What’s next?

So what’s next in his drive for San Pedro City to become “Una sa Laguna”?

“Sa ngayon po ay nakita na natin na may mga pagbabago na sa ating lungsod. But at the same time mayroon pa rin po tayong mga kinakaharap na challenges for me and the city government,” was how Mercado candidly put it in an interview with OpinYon Laguna.

But as proven in his first two years, Mercado is never one to shrink from whatever challenges he might face as city executive.

Today, taking a cue from the ambitious “Build Better More” infrastructure program of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr., Mercado bared to OpinYon Laguna the lineup of infrastructure projects his administration is now pursuing as part of his administration’s vision of San Pedro being a “smART City.”

‘Tuluy-tuloy ang mga proyekto’

Early on in his first year as city mayor, Mercado himself set the tone for his leadership style when he announced that his administration would continue (not to mention enhance) the major infrastructure projects started during the previous administration.

In his decision to continue the projects of the previous administration, Mercado introduced a new kind of leadership: a leadership that transcends political boundaries and promises that ALL San Pedrenses, no matter what their affiliations are, will receive equal and transparent public service.

These projects include the new Command Center of the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO) that was inaugurated last April 24; the new extension building of the San Pedro City Hall; and the new San Pedro Medical Center in Barangay Narra which started construction last August 2022.

‘SALAMAT, TAXPAYERS’

“Sa ngayon po, almost done na po ang Phase 1 ng San Pedro Medical Center,” Mercado reported to OpinYon Laguna. “After that, sisimulan na po natin yung Phase 2 ng naturang proyekto. Ang target po natin ay maging operational siya by the first or second quarter ng 2025.”

Own projects

On the other hand, Mercado is ready to put his own brand of public service through the major infrastructure projects that had been started during his term.

Chief among this is his ambitious project to rehabilitate not only the San Pedro City Plaza in Barangay Poblacion but also the Old Municipal Building and other nearby structures, which he explained will be repurposed for other uses.

Among these plans, he bared to OpinYon Laguna, is to house the future Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng San Pedro into the Old Municipal Building.

“Kapag natapos na po ang plano natin na i-merge ang San Pedro Technical Institute at ang San Pedro Polytechnic College, and once we get accreditation from the Commission on Higher Education, dito na po sa lumang munisipyo natin ilalagak ang bagong Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng San Pedro,” Mercado explained.

Meanwhile, the chief executive also bared changes in the plans for the redevelopment of the San Pedro City Plaza.

“Binago yung design, kung saan ibinalik natin yung basketball court and then ginawa nating mas pang-family, kumbaga pwedeng tambayan ng pamilya, ng mga taga-San Pedro. ang gusto namin is muling buhayin not only the City Plaza itself but yung mga negosyo around it, para at least kumita ang ating mga kababayan at manumbalik ang buhay at sigla ng ating downtown area,” he said.

Other projects started during Mercado’s first two years in office include the future San Pedro City Sports Complex in Barangay Landayan and the Sinag Residences, a low-cost housing project in Barangay Bagong Silang which falls under the national government’s Pambansang Pabahay Para sa Pilipino (4PH) program.

Improvements

Another chief concern of Mercado’s administration in his first term is the improvement of major roads and other public works in San Pedro City.

These include an extensive street lighting project covering many major and even minor thoroughfares in the city; road improvement projects in San Pedro City’s secondary roads; and an extensive effort to minimize the ever-present problem of flooding in San Pedro City.

“Flood control is one of the top priorities of our administration. Although hindi talaga natin masasabi na magiging flood-free na talaga tayo dahil nga catchbasin tayo ng tubig-baha mula sa Cavite papuntang Laguna de Bay, malaki na po ang naging improvement sa mga daluyan ng tubig natin,” Mercado reported.

The city government, it should be noted, had some unusual assistance in its drive to minimize flooding in San Pedro City: the San Miguel Corporation (SMC), which had embarked on a campaign to dredge the San Isidro River, the city’s main waterway.

On the pipeline

Mercado also bared a list of infrastructure projects that are now on the planning stage and are set to be started in the near future.

To recall, the city executive bared in his second State of the City Address (SOCA) last July 28, 2023 a list of future infrastructure programs, which include the construction of a new Pacita Astrodome; the San Pedro Intermodal Terminal; a new San Pedro Town Center; a city slaughterhouse and cold-storage facility; a new San Pedro City Jail; the San Pedro Sports Complex; and the rehabilitation of the city cemetery.

To this can be added the future San Pedro City Museum and Library, a priority project of the San Pedro City Tourism, Culture and Arts Office (CTCAO).

‘SALAMAT, TAXPAYERS’

Mercado now said most of these projects are now in the negotiating stage, with the city government looking into entering into Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) to facilitate their construction.

“Marami na pong mga interesado sa ilang mga proyekto na nakalaan natin under PPPs, for instance, yung pagsasaayos ng San Pedro Town Center, tapos yung San Pedro Intermodal Terminal. Ang initial target natin sa San Pedro Intermodal Terminal ay ilagay siya sa likod ng Robinsons Galleria South Mall,” he noted.

Credit to the taxpayers

Through it all, the Mercado administration has set itself apart from other so-called “traditional politicians” by giving credit not to the mayor himself or to other officials of the city government, but to what it considers the most important contributor of the city’s economic progress: the taxpayers.

To San Pedrenses who were so used to seeing the names of public officials in government projects, Mercado’s “low-profile” approach has been a gamechanger.

But why this mindset?

“First and foremost, hindi tatakbo ang ating pamahalaan kung hindi dahil sa mga taxpayers. Nais kong ipakita sa kanila na napupunta ang kanilang mga binabayad sa tama. Also, gusto ko ring ma-encourage sila na mas magbayad pa ng tamang buwis,” was how Mercado put it.

And considering the increased revenue the city government has received from its taxpayers in the past two years of the Mercado administration (see back page story), the city executive says this increased trust in his administration has, in turn, given the city government the impetus to give back more to San Pedrenses.

“The main reason kung bakit patuloy tayo sa pagpapasalamat sa ating mga taxpayers ay dahil hindi po matutuloy ang mga proyekto natin kung hindi dahil sa kanila. Nakita naman natin na sa pagtaas ng revenue collection ng San Pedro ay mas maraming nagagawang programs ang city government, social services na napapakinabangan ng ating mga mamamayan, partikular na ang mga estudyante at mga senior citizen natin,” Mercado added.

It should be noted, too, that Mercado sees the major improvement not only in its infrastructure but also in its social services and local governance as important assets in helping to attract more and more investors in the city.

“Through our major programs aimed at enhancing our social services and our delivery of basic services, particularly in ease of doing business, we aim to make San Pedro City more ‘business-friendly,’ yung huwag pahihirapan ang mga negosyante dito sa lungsod,” the city mayor elaborated.

“And the way I see it, being an entrepreneur myself, matatalino ang mga negosyante. Kapag nakita nila ang maayos na pagpapalakad at pagpapaunlad ng isang lungsod, they won’t think twice n mag-invest dito. So tataas ang value ng properties, mas gaganda ang takbo ng negosyo, and that can be translated into a cycle of progress na mapapakinabangan ng mga San Pedrense.”

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