BAGUIO CITY – The City Council approved on first reading a proposed ordinance empowering the barangays in the city to establish their ‘Baguio is beautiful brigade barangay project,’ a community-based venture purposely to attain green, safe, liveable and resilient city.
The ordinance authored by Councilor Lilia A. Fariñas stated it is a declared policy of the local government to empower the various barangays in the city to establish their ‘Baguio is beautiful brigade project’ and encourage them to group themselves, coordinate with responsible offices to learn from each other and develop strategic, feasible and viable plans for them to be more effective partners in making the city a beautiful, clean and green, safe, liveable and resilient city thereby augmenting the quality of community life.
The ordinance added the local government shall encourage the academe, governmental organizations, non-government organizations, people’s organizations, other multispectral organizations, national line agencies and professionals to group themselves and consolidate or coordinate their efforts, services, resources and transfer their expertise and technical support to the various barangays.
The said groups shall assist the barangays in formulating their respective alternative key strategies, urban design, feasible and viable plans to be more effective partners in making the city beautiful, clean and green, safe, liveable and resilient city.
Further, the strategies and detailed plans and programs, if applicable, shall focus, among others, on matters relative to protection of the environment and the enhancement of the right of the people to a balanced ecology; health and sanitation; informal settlers; improvement of public morals; social justice; economic prosperity and promotion of full employment; improvement of the quality of the educational system; preservation and enrichment of social and cultural activities; promotion of tourism; efficient restructuring of the traffic system; maintenance of peace and order and comfort and convenience of the inhabitants.
The ordinance cited it shall also include the formulation of key strategies and action plans for anticipating, managing and reducing disaster risk, setting up early warning systems and establishing specific disaster or crisis management structures and resilient activities.
For the purposes of the measure, the proponent explained a resilient city is one that is committed to reducing disaster risk by conducting risk assessment and integrates the outcomes in the disaster risk reduction plan and in urban development design and plans, raise awareness and use knowledge in disaster risk reduction practices.
The City Administrator’s Office and the City Planning and Development Office shall serve as coordinating offices responsible for making the proper coordination with the barangays, the academe, governmental organizations, non-government organizations, peoples’ organizations, other multispectral organizations, national line agencies and professionals to attain the objective of the measure.
Moreover, the City Administrator will be authorized to create a monitoring and coordinating committee to draw up the guidelines for the efficient and effective discharge of their responsibility.
By Dexter A. See
