FILE PHOTO: Manila City Mayor Honey Lacuna. (Photo from the Manila PIO)
MANILA, Philippines – The new chief executives of cities Manila and Taguig hit the ground running on Friday, their first day of office.
For her part, Manila Mayor Maria Sheilah “Honey” Lacuna-Pangan inspected the Manila City Hall to check for areas that would need renovation and clean-up.
According to the Manila government, the Manila mayor has instructed the departments to clean up and remove “eyesores,” which included fixing broken windows, replacing broken chairs, and even checking improperly parked vehicles.
“Tyinaga po namin na ikutin halos lahat ng mga tanggapan dito sa Manila City Hall para makita kung ano pa yung mga kailangan ayusin, tanggalin, at the same time para ma-meet ko rin yung mga kawani ng Pamahalaang Lungsod ng Maynila,” Lacuna said in a statement.
(We patiently circled almost all of the areas here in Manila City Hall to check what else we need to fix, remove, and at the same time for me to meet the people in the City Government of Manila.)
Lacuna-Pangan said one of the goals of the inspection was to efficiently use space for other departments, such as the Office of the Senior Citizens Affairs, whose inadequate space led to the use of the inner court for their services.
Before assuming Manila’s mayoralty, Lacuna served as the vice mayor from 2019 to 2022.
FILE PHOTO: Taguig Mayor Maria Laarni “Lani” Cayetano. INQUIRER FILES
For her part, Taguig Mayor Lani Cayetano signed her first executive order (EO) on Friday.
Cayetano signed her first EO that institutionalizes a faith-based values-oriented leadership in the city.
She sought to establish a moral uprightness and values formation program that ensures all Taguig employees continue to serve the community as a “God-centered and people-oriented” local government, under the EO No. 2022-01 Series of 202.
Cayetano also visited the Work for Pay Orientation at R.P. Cruz Elementary School, attended by more than 200 poverty alleviation program beneficiaries, whose initiative is aimed at affected families who are not among the national government’s ayuda beneficiaries.
Cayetano said during her speech that she would continue the past administration’s efforts in fighting against the pandemic and expanding the city’s economic development.
“Mga ginigiliw kong Taguigeño, handa na ako bilang lingkod-bayan po ninyo, handa na po akong paglingkuran kayo bilang Punong Lungsod ng Taguig. Nawa ay handa na rin po kayong samahan ako,” she said.
(My dear Taguigeño, I am ready as your public servant, I am prepared to serve you as the Mayor of Taguig. I hope that you are also ready to accompany me.) – Christine Annie S. Asistio, INQUIRER.net intern