Taguig mayor says education to remain a priority

MANILA, Philippines - Taguig City re-elected Mayor Lani Cayetano is eyeing reforms in the city's business and education sectors for her second term of office.

“In Taguig, our first priority is to continue upgrading the quality of education and make our students globally competitive, which is why we invest so much on our schools and students’ improvement and learning,” she said.

Cayetano was sworn in as re-elected mayor of Taguig last Sunday by former Senator Manny Villar, president of the Nacionalista Party, under which she ran in the polls last May.

According to Cayetano, Taguig City spends over a billion pesos in the public education sector every year for the construction of  new school buildings, teacher trainings and benefits.

“In the same manner, our administration will focus on further improving our business processes and procedures. We intend to foster closer and better relationships with the business sector,” she said.

Cayetano, who was re-elected with a margin of over 50,000 votes against her rival, Rica Tinga, also thanked her supporters.

“Three years ago, I had an almost impossible dream. But armed only with my strong faith in God, unwavering commitment to serve and a desire to improve the lives of our people," she said.

“You embraced that dream with me and elected me as the youngest and the first Lady Mayor of this city. To that, I am so honored and grateful,” she added.

Cayetano also assured residents of Taguig that education will be a priority in her second term.

According to Cayetano, reforms in the public education sector has enabled Taguig to rank 3rd out of the 17 cities in Metro Manila in the National Achievement Test (NAT), from 13th in 2009 and 7th in 2012.

“To the DepEd Division of Taguig, let us work harder and aim to be number one,” she said.

During her first term, Cayetano's administration provided free ready-to-wear uniforms, school supplies, shoes, text books and health kits to over 120,000 students of public daycare, elementary, and highschool.

“Bukod pa dito, (tayo ay may) pondo na inilalagak natin sa Taguig City University (TCU) kung saan tayo ay nagkakaloob ng libreng edukasyon sa mahigit 15,000 estudyante,” she said.

Cayetano's administration also instituted a scholarship program for the city through the Lifeline Assistance for Neighbors In-Need or (LANI) Scholarship Program.  - Mike Frialde