It is the all-consuming dream of Mayor Dondon Alcala to see a New Lucena with progressive economy and healthy, contented Lucenahins. From 2012 to 2021, he saw this happen in small but steady strides.
FREE education, social services, infrastructures, livelihood and employment, business opportunities and investment and Covid-19 response are uppermost in the mind of Lucena Mayor Roderick ‘Dondon’ Alcala.
Last July 26, Alcala narrated the story of the uphill climb for Bagong Lucena which started in 2012.
In his State of the City Address at the Sangguniang Panglunsod session hall, Mayor Alcala said he took the helm of the city government with only P650 million in hand. The city budget now is P1.3 billion.
He hit the ground running and began with fulfilling the immediate needs of his constituents from the margins of society thru his ambitious ‘womb to tomb’ Yellow Card program, helping in health and hospitalization needs.
The City Health Office has provided 85,607 vaccines since 2019 under National Immunization Program; 981 or an efficiency rate of 98.6% in New Born Screening tests and 902 or an efficiency rate of 90.65 % in New Born Hearing Tests.
The Social Welfare and Development Office thru Aid to Individual in Crisis Situation (AICS) helped 5,948 individuals in Medicines and Laboratory Tests; financial assistance for hospitalization for 6,573 patients; Free Processing of 1,363 Birth Registration and 6,303 free Funeral Assistance.
A total of P72,552,922 funded the AICS for the last 6 years and an annual birthday cash gift of P500 has been given to 22,658 senior citizens and 8,000 persons with disabilities.
Alcala told members of Sangguniang Panglunsod headed by its presiding officer Vice Mayor Philip Castillo, barangay officials, and city employees that up to 100,000 indigent Lucenahins have already benefited from the Yellow Card Program.
Free education
Believing that ‘an investment in knowledge pays the best interest’, the mayor cited the establishment in 2013 of Dalubhasaan ng Lungsod ng Lucena (DLL) from the then City College of Lucena with only 3 Bachelor’s Degree courses and 1 TESDA program into DLL.
At present, DLL has 9 academic courses which include 3 that require a board licensure examination.
On June 25, the Commission on Higher Education has awarded DLL as “Higher Education Institution” among local universities and colleges in Calabarzon. One of its first graduates of BS Social Work, Arwin R. Trinidad, finished among the top 5 in the last board exam.
Alcala said that Arwin and about 80% of DLL graduates with honors proved that investment in education pays off and they are now employed in the city government.
Booming business
The mayor also revealed that the number of registered businesses in the city has increased by 25% from 4,271 in 2012 to 5,333 in July 2021.
The city treasurer’s office shows that local sources collection in 2013 which amounted only to P353,856,067 increased to P639,525,956 last year which is a jump of 80.73% in just 7 years. For this, Lucena was awarded with Seal of Good Local Governance in 2015, and Good Financial House Keeping in 2016.
In order to fully provide for the housing needs of the poor, the city government has converted the Urban Poor Affairs Division into a full department called Office of the Urban Poor Affairs.
Mayor Alcala established the first socialized housing project in Calabarzon called Don Victor Ville in partnership with PAG-IBIG fund. Each beneficiary in Don Victor Ville has only to pay a monthly amortization of P2,000 to P4,000.
The National Housing Authority (NHA)’ Resettlement Assistance Program for Local Government Units has funded the construction of 77 housing units for the Informal Settler Families with P6 million as grant from NHA and P6 million loan to be paid by the city government. As a result of this, the informal settlers only pay P499 amortization a month and last June, 28 units had already been awarded to beneficiaries.
The Office of the Urban Poor Affairs also oversees the ongoing construction of the Tenement Housing Project for 625 informal settlers with the site development funded by the city government along with the free land survey for the city’s 7 Urban Poor associations.
Infrastructure development
If the national government has Build, Build, Build program the city government has its infrastructure development that began with the Lucena City Government Complex inaugurated on March 17, 2017 in Bgy. Kanlurang Mayao.
For Mayor Alcala, the new city hall symbolized Bagong Lucena. Among other big-ticket projects built in the city since his assumption as the city chief executive:
The city public market which boasts of escalators, the restored heritage building which is the old city hall, the new city police station, new city health building and soon the Lucena city Convention Center and Sports Complex which is still undergoing construction.
In 2019 at the start of his last term in office, Alcala has identified 34 road network projects for the barangays and 5 of these are already completed and used for city motorists and pedestrians which included concreting of roads in Purok Ibaiw, Barangay Ilayang Dupay; in VSV, Purok Damayan 2, Bgy. Ibabang Iyam; in Purok Talisay, Bgy. Talao-Talao, concreting of farm to market road in Purok Baybayin, Bgy. Ibabang Dupay and rehabilitation of road in Purok Sariling Atin, Bgy. Ibabang Dupay.
The mayor also revealed that he has talked with San Miguel Corp. president Ramon Ang last July 9 and they agreed that the exit of South Luzon Expressway Toll Road 4 will be connected at the entrance itself of the Lucena city government complex which the mayor said augured well for the continuous urban and economic development of the city.
Covid-19 response
The emergence of Covid-19 pandemic was a test of leadership and governance and Mayor Alcala positioned all the resources of the city government for its planned response and accordingly re-aligned to meet the needs of the community.
In 2020 the city government set aside a considerable budget for its Covid response: P20,129,643 from the city trust fund, P67,905,483 from the Bayanihan grant for cities and municipalities, and P85,568,007 from its own budgetary allocation.
Lucena also allotted P6 million for the establishment of the Molecular Laboratory for Covid-19 at the Lucena United Doctor’s Hospital for use in the analysis of RT-PCR tests for patients.#