Belmonte to deliver state of the city address

 Quezon City Mayor Feliciano Belmonte Jr. will deliver his State of the City Address during the inaugural session of the 17th City Council at 2 p.m. tomorrow.

In his inaugural address for his third and last term of office 28 days ago, he introduced the city’s development agenda for 2007 and beyond as the ABC of development that addresses the basic needs of any growing city in alleviating poverty, building up the city and competing on strength.

For his last three years in office, Belmonte will expound poverty alleviation measures as an integrated, comprehensive program that will address his constituents’ basic needs.

These measures include a feeding program for 50,000 first graders in the city’s public schools.

He said the city government will give recognition to the city’s public school students who won awards in international academic competitions.

Belmonte seeks to expand the city’s free immunization program for children up to 11 months old. The program expanded its coverage from 77 percent in 2005 to 90 percent last year. This year, the city government is aiming for 100 percent coverage.

He is also set to implement more aggressive measures to help families have only as many children as they can care for.

Belmonte will also implement a shelter program that involves the multiple approaches of the Urban Poor Affairs Office, the Subdivision Administration Office and the Housing and Urban Renewal Authority.

He vowed to transform the city by adopting international standards in developing main thoroughfares and building up the city’s 250-hectare central business district.

Belmonte said the city government will streamline and rationalize its operations and retool its employees.

The city government, according to Belmonte, has invested P9.84 billion in infrastructure development from 2001 to 2007.

More than half or 52 percent of this amount went to road building and repair, paving and widening more than 1,146 kilometers of concrete and asphalt roads.

Twenty-nine percent of the total budget was spent on the construction of school buildings, Belmonte said. – Perseus Echeminada