CEBU, Philippines - Twenty-four barangay captains received yesterday brand new units of Toyota Hilux while some received Toyota Innova units as promised to them by Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama.
The rest of the 80 barangay captains will receive their vehicles during the next batch of deliveries.
Only 25 units of brand new vehicles have been delivered so far and the first batch of barangays to receive are Agsungot, Babag, Basak San Nicolas, Busay, Cambinocot, Day-as, Duljo Fatima, Kalubihan, Lusaran, Mabini, Pamutan, Paril, Pung-ol Sibugay, San Jose, Sawang Calero, Sta. Cruz, Sudlon I, Taptap, Buhisan, Luz, Pit-os, San Antonio, Sinsin and Zapatera.
Of the first batch of barangays that received their vehicles, 18 of them chose Toyota Hilux units while six chose the Toyota Innova.
These vehicles are what Rama promised them last year. A budget of P100 million was appropriated for this purpose and was included in the Annual Budget. The said budget was among the items prioritized by the City Council.
Each unit of Toyota Hilux was purchased by the city government at P1 million while each unit of Toyota Innova costs P800,000.
The vehicles were turned over to the barangay captains yesterday complete with Land Transportation Office (LTO) registrations and Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) insurance.
As to which barangays shall receive first, the selection was facilitated by the office of Councilor Jose Daluz III.
The city government assured that whoever receives first was never dictated by their political affiliation.
Busay Captain Eliodoro Sanchez said that the vehicles will be very useful to mountain barangays like his. He said that in the past, barangay captains use their personal cars as service vehicles, which is an additional burden to them.
He said that being provided with a vehicle by City Hall will minimize their maintenance expenses.
Agsungot Captain Pastor Alcover Jr. said that he will make sure that the vehicle will be used for official purposes only and to better the services of the barangay. He said the vehicle may be used by the constituents as long as it is for official purpose.
Captain Lorentina Malazarte of barangay Taptap said that she used to ride motorcycles-for-hire in going to city hall to follow up their projects. She said she is thankful that City Hall heard their wish for a vehicle to be used in the barangay. (FREEMAN)