Mayor Joy Belmonte: A true social reformist and outstanding city mayor

For the fourth straight year DTI’s  Cities and Municipalities Competitiveness Index 2024 awarded to Mayor Joy Belmonte and the Quezon city-LGU  , the very  prestigious Overall Most Competitive Local Government Unit under the Highly Urbanized Category in its formal ceremonies at the Manila Hotel recently.  This year, the city also won in the categories of  Infrastructure, placed 2nd  in Innovation and 3^rd in Resiliency,  plus a Special Award from the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOP). In 2019, the QC-LGU became a Hall of Famer for always winning in this category.

Laurels and recognitions continue to shower on Mayor Joy Belmonte and her LGU team.  “Resilience champion” from the National Reliance Council, “Outstanding Public Servant” and “Presidential Lingkod Bayan awardee “from the Civil Service Commission-NCR. “Most Outstanding Business Friendly mayor” from the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), “Dangal ng Bayan Award” from the Gawad Pilipino Awards of EUROTV, “Maverick of the Year awardee” from the prestigious Esquire Magazine,  and “Outstanding Mayor” from the MCLE Accredited National Convention of Public Attorneys, “National Outstanding Mayor” of the Year from Saludo Excellence,  “Public Servant of the Year” and “Outstanding Woman” from the Crystal International Women’s Awards plus more than a hundred citations among others.

 To top it all , The United Nations Environment Programme  named Belmonte a “champion of the Earth” for her efforts to transform Quezon city  into an environmental trailblazer. She was included in  the policy leadership category of the 2023 Champions of the Earth award, which is UN’s highest environmental honor.

We should also congratulate  Belmonte and her LGU TEAM for their exemplary fiscal handling of government funds as certified by the Commission on Audit (COA).  For the fourth consecutive time, COA issued its fourth unqualified opinion, where the city was lauded for its meticulous handling of finances and adherence to stringent audit standards, cementing its reputation as a paragon of transparency and accountability in local governance.

“Our fourth unqualified opinion award from COA is clear evidence of our successful campaign and vision  for  a corruption-free administration and good governance. We must congratulate all our citizens for helping us – their public servants – in achieving this milestone” Mayor Joy Belmonte said.

By digitizing all City Hall transactions to businessmen, private sector employees, and making transparent all of their decisions in the past years , Belmonte managed to eliminate if not drastically reduced corruption hounding the Engineering, Assessment , and other city departments.

However, Quezon city remains very challenging, being the richest in the country with P451B in assets  and biggest annual budget. Its  total area  of 165 sq km is four  times larger than Manila and her population  of 3.2 M is nearly twice of Manila  and five times bigger than Makati. No wonder,  City hall remains the target of the politically corrupt during local elections.

In her first term five years ago, Belmonte pushed for a people-centric governance that is inclusive and responsive to residents, “Our mode of governance from being merely consultative, into a fully inclusive, integrated, and participative process of decision-making,”. The “Social Services Program Caravans’ was thereafter created, and all barangays were visited regularly in the six districts thru their district action officers.

Queries/benefits are discussed and acted coming from penior citizens, persons with disabilities (PWDs), social welfare financial assistance-Pangkabuhayan grants, job hiring, civil registry, scholarships, housing and resettlements, business and building permits, free medical examination and medicines, and even veterinary services for house dogs, cats and other pets. For emergency concerns, helpline 122 is readily accessible. A regular People’s Corner was created via its QC E-Services where residents can air their grievances against City Hall.

For support funding, Belmonte showed determination to realize  her pro-people agenda. In this year’s city budget of P35.1B, she allocated P13.4B for SOCIAL SERVICES ,  four times larger than the city’s INFRA projects at only P3.1 B. Her social service preference over infrastructure is direct evidence of her concern for people and not on the traditional politico favorite, that is,  building or street construction.

Another laudable project, the only one in the country, is Belmonte’s  free DAILY bus rides (Libreng Sakay)  for QC residents and those non-QC residents working within the city. These are  six areas that ends towards QC Memorial Circle and city hall after passes thru major economic areas of the city. The QCity Bus starts from eight areas, namely Cubao, Litex-IBP road, Welcome Rotonda-Aurora Katipunan, General Luis, Mindanao-Visayas Avenue, Gilmore, C5 Ortigas Ave and Munoz. More than 20 million passengers availed of this in latest counts. The free ride guarantees safe travel and savings for  the bus passengers  on weekdays and even on weekends.

If one looks at the number of people benefitting from Belmonte’s social reform agenda, they are staggering. Around 92,000 micro and nano entrepreneurs from the ranks of OFW, solo parents, PWDs, seniors, youth QC receive business capital from Pangkabuhayan, QC Essentials, POP QC, Youth Entrepreneurship Program, Digital Beauty Academy, Fresh Market, Small Income Generating Assistance (SIGA) and Tindahan ni Ate Joy.

There are 17,703 youth scholars, 19,929 housing beneficiaries, 18,500 urban farmers, 54,000 senior citizens and 34,000 non-seniors receiving free maintenance hypertension and diabetes drugs, 13,000 solo parents, senior citizen and PDL’s receiving P6k year assistance and several others

Onto her coming third and final term, Mayor Belmonte has successfully steered Quezon city, through  our  tragic COVID  and its post recovery times, but  she still transformed the LGU into a colossal unit of today, one  that leads the nation in digital  innovation with fast and direct response mechanisms.  Even with its large size and population (almost 1/3 of the National Capital Region) Quezon city’s success is a microcosm of the entire Philippine nation. It is like managing the entire Philippines. But Belmonte’s example of “good governance” and “clean administration” is a rarity these days that should be emulated by all other LGUs and even our National officials.

Let me quote from a popular American politician, former Mayor of New Orleans, Louisiana (1994-2002)  Mark Moriel who then campaigned to clean out City Hall with a shovel and not a broom.  He said , “The leadership of the mayor is crucial, because it is to the mayor that people will look,  to provide the vision, the energy, and the sense of confidence in the rebuilding and the recovery“.