Mayor Dan Fernandez of Sta Rosa, Laguna First 100 Days

“Job well done.”  This is how Santa Rosa City Mayor Dan S. Fernandez wanted his administration to be remembered when he presented his first 100 days report last October 24, 2016 at the City Auditorium in an event dubbed Dangal ng Paglilingkod: Isandaang Araw.

In attendance during the event were Vice Mayor Arnold Arcillas and City Councilors, heads and employees of city government offices and national agencies, barangay officials and employees, and former barangay officials.

Laguna First District Representative Arlene B. Arcillas also graced the event and expressed her support for the administration of Mayor Fernandez.

Addressing the audience, Representative Arlene stressed the importance of a smooth transition of government and the continuity of programs that address the fundamentals of the city’s development.

In his report, Mayor Dan took off from his inaugural speech last June 28, 2016 when he presented his seven thrusts: criminality, traffic, flooding, health, education, livelihood and tourism.

For criminality, the Mayor focused on the city’s measures in support of President Rodrigo Duterte’s call to end the drug problem in the country.  He shared that the Santa Rosa City Police Station reported 1,355 illegal drug personalities and the city’s response to this is to establish the Dangal ng PagbabagoRehabilitation Center and the implementation of the Padyak laban sa Illegal na Droga to help those who  voluntarily surrendered.

The rehabilitation center is the first of such kind established by a local government unit.  It will be fully operational by November this year.

Mayor Dan also reported the on-going construction of the command center which will serve as an anti-crime tool equipped with disaster risk management capabilities.  A facility to serve as permanent evacuation center is also integrated in the command center.

Local officials visited Davao City last August to benchmark the command center and study the operations of Davao 911.

As for the growing traffic problem of the city, the mayor has addressed this through clearing operations, rerouting, and hiring of additional traffic enforcers.  A monitoring team has been setup to regularly inspect bottleneck areas.

The plan for the Small Water Impounding System is already in place and is awaiting budget from national office which will be coordinated through the Office of Representative Arcillas.  This will help deal with the flooding issue of the city.

The mayor announced that around two hectares have been donated by the Yulo estate for use as water impounding.

For health, the implementation of Point-of-Care Program and No Doctor’s Bill Policy, and opening of the Dialysis Center in the Santa Rosa Community Hospital; and the strengthening of the PhilHealth ng Masa Program of the city are his primary focus.

In education and livelihood, the additional subsidy for Polytechnic University of the Philippines Santa Rosa Campus and reinforcement of the Santa Rosa Manpower Training Center are some of his area of concentration.

Stimulation of the tourism sector by promoting the heritage sites, proposal for the esplanade along Leon C. Arcillas Blvd., and plans to revitalize the Artes de Zarzuela to feature Maria Carpena and the Banduria, are foremost among Mayor Fernandez’s plans for this sector.

He emphasized that while these are part of his report, recognition is not solely his. “Nagawa ko ito dahil sa pakikiisa ng bawat opisyal, ni Congresswoman Arlene, Vice Mayor Arnold at buong konseho, opisyal ng barangay, department heads, mga kawani, at ng mamamayan ng lungsod. Kaya lahat tayo ay may kontribusyon sa tagumpay na ito,” he said.

He finished his speech with a reference to his preferred advice to fellow public servants: “Minsan lang tayo dadaan sa buhay na ito, kaya ibigay at gawin na natin ang tama at nararapat. Nangsagayon matapos ang lahat ay masasabi natin ‘It’s a job well done.’ Maraming salamat po muli. Arangkada, Dangal ng Santa Rosa!”