Legacion delivers state of city report

By Jason B. Neola

Mayor Nelson Legacion reported in his State of the City Address on Tuesday, March 15, that the city government of Naga was able to undertake 478 infrastructure projects amounting to P664.3 million from the time he assumed office in 2019 up to the first quarter of 2022.

Legacion, who was applauded 81 times when he delivered his report that lasted for one hour and 10 minutes, also informed Nagueños of his administration’s incoming projects for the next three years as outlined in the city’s Green and Resilient Playbook (GRP) prepared in collaboration with the World Bank and the League of Cities of the Philippines.

He assured Nagueños that the city government will continue to implement more projects, especially this time that Naga has achieved the Alert Level 1 status. Based on the report of Home Isolation Team, the entire city has registered zero active cases of Covid-19 for a number of days.

Giving emphasis that the city government is a government for all Nagueños, Legacion vowed that his leadership is willing to go the full distance if only to ensure that people’s participation is continuously working in the city and that more Nagueños are wanting to get involved.

Legacion, in his first term, is able to pursue projects that are truly beneficial to the Nagueños, despite the onslaughts of Covid-19 and other calamities like typhoons and earthquakes in the city.

These projects can be summed up to four categories: urban revitalization; government service decentralization; community development; and education facilities provision. Most of these projects were achieved in partnership with national government agencies and private entities, especially the families who donated lands with a total area of 18.7 hectares and total market value of P914.5 million.

The city’s GRP is contained with development plans that will stir economic growth at the Central Business District II (Tabuco side) where the ongoing construction of the Bicol River Esplanade/Boulevard is taking place and the People’s Park and Recreation Center, an upcoming project, will be constructed.

Other projects under GRP:

The Balatas New Development Area where the Center for Safety and Resiliency building will rise along with the P550 million New Naga City Hospital (phase 1 and 2), which is due for completion in 15 to 20 months from now. A privately-owned satellite market with bagsakan of farm products will also be constructed in the area;

The City Road Network Development that will open alternative routes leading to the city like the Palestina (Pili)-San Isidro (Naga) Bridge and Bypass Road, Palestina-Yabo Alternative Access Road, San Felipe-Liberty Village Road, and the concreting of Matiway-Sitio Almeda Connector Road going to the city’s upland barangays;

The Forest in Our Midst (FOM) projects covering at present 3.5 hectares (28 sites), planted with 21,559 trees at present will be expanded. Planting of mangroves along the banks of the Naga River will also be undertaken;

Establishment of new housing and mixed-use development sites at the Balatas and Sta. Cruz New Development Areas. Being considered also as sites for the project are Barangay Carolina, where a housing project for government employees will be erected along with a terminal for PUVs;

The construction of Naga City Convention Center at Pacol-Carolina area and the Eco-Tourism Resort in Barangay Panicuason; and

The establishment at the Metro Naga Sports Complex of specialized secondary schools where the students can freely select from, depending on their choices e.g. the Naga City High School for the Arts, the Naga City School for Mathematics and Information Technology, the Naga City Agro-Industrial High School, and the Naga City High School for Athletics and Sports.

Mario Villanueva, president of the Naga College Foundation, commented that: “Mayor Legacion is a visionary leader, a progressive mayor who deserves another term to continue the progress that he has in mind for the Nagueños.”

Villanueva, who is also the president of Metro Naga Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MNCC) and a key player in the local tourism industry, described the city’s development plan as profound and inclusive as “it touches not only about the welfare and wellbeing of one or two sectors but also of the others including the marginalized and vulnerable groups in the society.”