Making Baguio a better place; sprucing up Session Road

 CITY HALL BEAT

Aileen P. Refuerzo

BAGUIO CITY – Halfway through his first 100 days in office, Mayor Benjamin Magalong reiterated his commitment to effect a change in the city within the three years of his administration.

“I can assure you that three years from now, we will see a better Baguio.  I cannot fail you and I will not fail the people of Baguio,” the mayor emphatically told a press briefing Tuesday.

He said that since his first day in office, he had been instituting “reforms in all areas of the city” particularly on the environment, traffic, water supply and sewerage system. 

He said these problems cannot be solved overnight and would require “short term and strategic solutions.”

”Please bear with us, just be patient with us.  Rest assured that we have all the passion to change and reform the city,” he said.

In his address before City Hall employees during the flag raising rites Monday, the mayor said he had been receiving positive feedbacks on the current programs being implemented by the city.

He attributed these accomplishments to the collective effort of his co-officials led by Rep. Marquez Go and the city council led by Vice Mayor Faustino Olowan and the entire workforce of the city government.

However, he said a lot of things still need to be done as he solicited the continued cooperation of everyone in bringing genuine service to the constituents.      

In said occasion, the mayor issued three new orders foremost for the department heads to interact with the barangays for at least two half-days a week to gain first-hand knowledge of the residents’ problems and directly institute solutions to their concerns.  

“This will be a continuing activity for our department heads until we determine that there is no more need for it,” the mayor said.

He also ordered employees and officials to patronize the city’s weekly wellness program conducted every Friday afternoon which he said is for their own benefit.

His third order was directed to all departments to refrain from using acronyms, statements or themes associated to him or his political campaign in any of the program or activities emphasizing that city government matters are not about the him but for the public.

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This, as the city government will introduce public attractions along Session Road for people to totally enjoy the closure of its uphill stretch every Sunday.

Mayor Magalong last week tasked the City Tourism and Special Events Office under City Tourism Operations Officer Aloysius Mapalo to come up with an activity plan for the whole duration of the traffic experiment at the city’s most popular and scenic road.

The traffic experiment which started last Aug. 18 and will run for six Sundays from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. was meant to cut air pollution at the heart of the central business district and encourage walking among the residents.

The first day of closure saw people promenading along the road where pocket activities were spontaneously conducted by some groups throughout the day.

Mapalo said they intend to encourage only simple activities such as busking, chalk art and similar and unstructured undertakings for Session Road.

“Nothing fancy, nothing structured is more like it,” he said.

On Sunday, Aug.25, Mayor Magalong said Session Road will be the venue for the Mindanao fruit festival which he coordinated with former agriculture secretary and now Mindanao Development Authority Chair Emmanuel Pinol.

The mayor said they arranged for the delivery of crates of Mindanao native fruits like durian, mangosteen, lanzones, pomelo and others to the city to be sold at bargain prices to the city’s licensed fruit dealers who in turn will resell them to the public along Session Road.

He said this will be a one-time activity intended to help local fruit dealers and consumers avail of  Mindanao fruits at a low cost and at the same also help Mindanao farmers market their produce.

He tasked Mapalo to take charge of the arrangements with the licensed fruit sellers from the city market and other legitimate groups.

Mapalo said as per agreement with representatives of the vendors groups, 30 fruit vending stations will be strategically put up along the stretch of the road to resell the goods to the public.

 Netizens welcomed the rare opportunity to participate in the fruit festival and avail of the bargain-priced crops. 

“As we go on, we hope that the activities will evolve into attractions that will entice people to enjoy Session Road to the hilt,” the mayor said.