DILG Secretary Eduardo Año. INQUIRER.net file photo
MANILA, Philippines – The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) has launched a nationwide discipline campaign which aims to “re-build the culture of discipline among Filipinos,” and a safe cities program which pushes for an efficient management of public order.
And what better way to start it in Marikina City: A city with residents known for being resilient and disciplined, no matter who is at the helm of their local government.
The two campaigns — #DisiplinaMuna (discipline first) and Safe Philippines — are DILG projects geared at improving the quality of life over the country.
“Safe Philippines can also help urban, transport, and disaster planners strategize future plans for city development and Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) measures,” Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said in his speech at the Marikina Hotel and Convention Center on Friday.
“In our aim to solve the traffic woes in key cities, we believe that the Safe Philippines Project will likewise help sustain the gains of our continuous national road clearing program which the DILG pioneers as we heed the call of President Rodrigo Duterte to reclaim public roads being used for private ends,” he added.
DILG Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya, meanwhile, said that the country would be safer if the Safe Philippines project is coupled with a mindset that goes with Disiplina Muna.
“The road towards a safer Philippines is one that the government and the people alike are treading. National and local governments can use hi-tech ICT and highly trained uniformed personnel to ensure a safer country,” Malaya said.
“But without the individual discipline among Filipinos to be law-abiding and peace-loving, our common mission of having a safer Philippines would be hard to realize. Bayanihan po ito [This is Bayanihan],” he explained.
Marikina Mayor Marcelino Teodoro, meanwhile, thanked DILG and its officials led by Año for choosing Marikina to be the pilot city for the Safe Philippines Project.
“Based on our experience here in Marikina, discipline and safety equates to people’s support. This is the Marikina way of attaining and sustaining peace and order in our community,” Teodoro said in a statement.
“We expect that Marikina will highly benefit with the project and will be at par in terms of safety and security. With expected lower crime rate, a safe and secured environment is an important factor in fostering investment and economic growth and more investors will be enticed to do business in Marikina,” he added.
The penchant of Marikina for discipline has been well documented — partly because residents do not want the ghosts of the past to haunt them. In 2009, Typhoon Ondoy brought over a month’s worth of rainfall to various cities including Marikina, which appeared to be the hardest-hit area in the country.
More than 70 residents died due to the typhoon.
It is not to say that Marikina was not disciplined before, but since then, there has been a noticeable change in the approach of residents. During 2018’s All Saints’ and All Souls’ Days, INQUIRER.net released a feature about how Marikina’s cemeteries do not suffer from waste problem, unlike other major cemeteries in Metro Manila.