TABUK CITY, Kalinga – In his speech during the celebration of Tabuk’s founding anniversary, Mayor Darwin Estrañero touted the achievements of his administration in his first term and shares his long-term plans for the city.
“Our city has witnessed numerous changes in the three years since I took office as mayor. I’m not trying to brag, but it’s clear that Tabuk is starting to grasp what it means to be an urbanized city when you look around,” he said at the City Hall during the foundation day celebration attended by local officials and employees of the city government.
He highlighted the massive road developments implemented in all 43 barangays particularly in the rural barangays that improved residents’ quality of life through increased mobility and faster transport of agricultural products.
As per records of the City Engineering Office, 276 infrastructure projects worth Php 276 million was completed in 2021 while 82 projects worth Php 762 million are set to be completed in 2022. These projects range from concreting of roads and construction of farm-to-market roads to building new facilities such as barangay halls, gymnasiums, and waterwork systems.
Mayor Estrañero noted that since he took over city government, business has boomed. “There have been a lot more new businesses opening than there were three years ago. More businesses create more jobs and revenue for the city government, which may then be utilized to provide social assistance to the inhabitants,” he said.
With the pandemic taking up most of his first term in office, Estrañero also highlighted his administration’s COVID-19 response which was marked by the construction of facilities that were key to controlling the spread of the disease.
At the height of the pandemic, the city put up a 120-bed isolation facility and established its own RT-PCR laboratory which is reportedly the first local government unit owned and operated facility in the whole of Northern Luzon. It would be recalled that officials of the Department of Health had congratulated the mayor for these initiatives, calling them “a very good example of leadership.”
As he enters his second term, Estrañero said more developments are coming. The development of the Bulanao public market is happening soon, the construction of a legislative building is in full swing, and a city hospital will soon rise in Barangay Appas.
In the latter part of his speech, Estrañero announced the city is gearing up to join the ranks of so-called ‘smart cities’.
A smart city is defined as one that utilizes technology to better deliver services such as healthcare, mobility and using new methodologies to make city living “smarter” when it comes to governance, administration, the utilization of resources, and planning. Smart cities in the Philippines include Metro Manila, Metro Clark, Metro Cebu and Metro Davao.
“We would like to make our city a haven of peace, a mecca of rich culture and a hub of development for a better quality of life for all Tabukeños,” Mayor Estrañero said.
In the realization of these dreams, the city chief executive urged every Tabukeño to help and to show solidarity, which is precisely the center of this year’s festivities with the theme: “One family, one people, one city.”
“Sapay kuma nga daytuy nga tema ti pyesta tayo, daytuy kuma manen ti inspirasyon tayo nga agkaykaysa para ti pagsayaatan ti ili tayo,” he said.
