Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte greeted with cakes and birthday flowers by her constituents in District 3. Also shown in photo are QC Rep. Franz Pumaren and councillors who helped distribute financial aid to more than 1,000 QCitizens on March 15
MANILA, Philippines — In a week-long caravan series all over the city, birthday celebrant Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte personally handed out numerous social, educational, and financial services to thousands of informal sector families.
Belmonte, who is on her second term, is a staunch advocate of delivering more social services to all her constituents as part of her priorities.
“Our job is to make sure that taxes go towards improving the lives of Qcitizens.”, she said.
She first visited District 2 — which covers, among others, Barangays Batasan and Payatas — where she handed out financial aid to more than 1,000 informal sector families with small businesses.
She also enjoined them to avail of educational assistance for their children.
Around 1,000 informal settlers from District 4 received financial assistance from Mayor Belmonte on March 15, 2024.
She next visited District 5, which covers Barangays Fairview and Novaliches, where more than one thousand QCitizens again got financial help from the LGU. They in turn gifted the mayor numerous birthday cakes and other presents in appreciation of her actions.
Another 1,000 families from the informal sector were also given financial capital in District 6 — which is composed of Barangays New Era, Baesa, and Culiat.
She encouraged them to work consistently on their small business to improve their lives.
The next stop was District 1 — composed of Project 6, Bagong Pag-asa, Santo Domingo — where the mayor again extended financial assistance to more than 1,000 QCitizens with Tulong Pangkabuhayan and Tindahan ni Ate Joy.
The mayor also thanked them for their birthday cakes and gifts.
Another one thousand families, mostly from the informal sector from District 4 covering Barangays Tatalon, UP Campus, Mariana, and others, also received financial support along with medical and educational services from the city government.
The last stop was District 3 — composed of Barangays Quirino, Escopa, and Socorro, among others — where Belmonte also gave financial help to more than 1,000 Qcitizens for their small businesses.
More than 1,000 informal settlers from Quezon City’s District 1 also received Tulong Pangkabuhayan packages from Mayor Belmonte who in turn received birthday cakes and flowers on March 15.
She thanked her constituents for making her heart full in all of her personal interactions during the week-long caravan.
On Saturday, Belmonte also met with 6,000 small business owners and ambulant vendors from all over the city.
Each received additional cash capital, including livelihood programs personally given by the mayor together with QC District action officers, Reps. Franz Pumaren, PM Vargas, and chief of staff Rowena Macatao.
Also, part of her birthday celebration was the mayor’s announcement that there are now more than 1,000 Urban farms within the city.
Mass organizations in this regard were formed such as the Bagong Payatas Cooperative with about 4,000 members in which the mayor led their oath-taking assisted by Rep. Ralph Tulfo.
On housing, about 800 QCitizens, formerly informal settlers, will now own their occupied lots through the Direct Sale Housing program of the city government.
Belmonte signed the deed of sale between the Mega East Properties represented by Bobby Gonzales for the land occupied by more than 350 QCitizens.
Another agreement, this time with the Manila Remnant Company represented by Edgar Krohn, was signed by the mayor for turnover to its more than 450 QCitizens.
Under the agreement, the lots will be sold at affordable prices via installment to the recipients.
On her birth anniversary last March 15, Quezon City Mayor Belmonte extended financial assistance to more than 6,000 ambulant vendors from all over the city.
During her term, Belmonte offered free bus rides to the public, distributed hundreds of thousands of Samsung Galaxy tablets to students, established a right to care card in QC—which allows those in the LGBTQIA+ community to be there for their sick partner.
She was also named by the United Nations as a “Champion of the Earth” for eliminating plastic pollution in QC.
She received hundreds of awards for being the Most Outstanding Public Servant, Maverick of the Year, Mayor of the Year, National Outstanding Mayor of the Year, Dangal ng Bayan awardee, and Presidential Lingkod Bayan Awardee, among others.
All this while receiving consecutive unqualified opinions from the Commission on Audit — a seal of honest governance that isn’t easy to obtain.