Oath Taking Speech of Taguig City Mayor Lani Cayetano

“GOOD STEWARDSHIP”

The Parable of Talents(Mat 25: 14-30)

Allow me to begin by sharing with you the parable of the talents which I’m sure many of you are familiar with. A talent at that time is a form of money. In the book of Matthew, there’s a story of a master and his three servants. Before the master embarked on a long journey, he gave one of his servants 5 talents, the other servant, 2 talents, and the third servant, 1 talent — based on their abilities.

The first two servants made good use of the talents given to them. While the 3rd one decided to bury it in the ground and so it never grew.

When the master eventually came back, he called his servants to account. He rewarded the first two servants for doubling what he gave them. While the last servant was castigated by taking away his one talent and giving it to the servant who got 10.

The Parable Applies to All of Us

Honored guests, fellow public servants, Ladies and Gentlemen, Magandang Umaga po. I started my message by sharing that parable as I believe, it applies to all of us.

Ikaw man ay isang karaniwang mangagawa, negosyante, propesyonal, lingkod bayan o ordinaryong mamamayan  — lahat tayo ay mayroong angking kakayahan, talento, oportunidad at oras.

Nasa atin din nakasalalay kung ito ay ating pagyayamanin at palalaguin o di kaya’y palalampasin at wawaldasin.

An Almost Impossible Dream

Three years ago, I had an almost impossible dream. But armed only with my strong faith in GOD, unwavering commitment to serve and a desire to improve the lives of our people — especiallythe underprivileged, we emerged victorious.

You embraced that dream with me and elected me as the youngest and the first Lady Mayor of this City. To that, I am so honored and grateful. Maraming Salamat Po!

And so for the past 3 years, I tirelessly endeavored to fulfill my promises. Braving the challenges and even doubts by some. The challenges made me tougher, and the doubts strengthened our resolve to succeed. But I could not have done it alone. Allow me now to pay tribute to those who stood with us and believed.

A Tribute

First and foremost, to our key people in the City Government, who out of friendship and love, set aside their more lucrative professions, and joined hands with us to serve our people. This is led by our very hardworking and highly competent City Administrator, Atty. Joel Montales.

To the councilors who set aside partisan politics, endured painful criticisms from their former partymates,maraming salamat sainyo! Among them is our beloved late Councilor Ricardo “Tito Ric” Jordan, who devoted himself in the service of the City, and who stood by me and supported our administration especially during the most trying times. Kami ay nagpupugay sa iyong mahigit dalawang dekadang tapat na paglilingkod sa ating bayan.

Then we have Councilor AP Bartolome. Through his able leadership, our yearly budgets were passed, and key programs in education, health and peace and order were supported. And when the time came that he had to choose between career advancement, and the greater interest of the city – he gallantly gave way and sacrificed. Thank you so much, Councilor AP.Mabuhay ka!

I would also like to commend Councilor Gigi Valenzuela-De Mesa, my partner in promoting women empowerment, cooperative development and livelihood.Salamat saiyo.Nawa’y hindi magmaliw ang iyong pagnanais na patuloy na makapaglingkod sa ating mga kababayan.

As for the re-elected councilors in our midst today — our people knew very well that you have stood by me, supported my programs, and advanced the interests of our people. Salamat sa pagbibigay puwang sa aking administrasyon. Sa inyong muling pagkakahalal ay ating napatunayan, na tama ang ating direksyon at tama na pinili nating magkaisa.

Sa Nacionalista Party, tanggapin po ninyo ang aming tapat na pasasalamat sa inyong patuloy na suporta.

Sa lahat ng naririto ngayon na nagtiwala at tumulong sa akin sa ano mang kapasidad at kaparaanan, maraming salamat po.

Hindi ko din papalampasin ang pagkakataong ito na pasalamatan ng lubos ang aking pamilya sa kanilang pagmamahal at inspirasyon.

To my beloved mother and my mother-in-law, Uncle Boy, my brother Jayr and family, Lino, Renren, Ate Pia and her kids. To the Villars, Zamoras, the Garcias, and most especially to my husband Alan for always believing in me and standing by my side. I am blessed to have you as my mentor and my friend. It’s such a joy to serve our people and our country with you.

Our Partners in the Private Sector

Today, we are also honored by the presence of our partners in the private sector. Thank you for taking time to share with us this momentous occasion. We invited you not just to witness our oath-taking but more importantly to thank you for your valuable contributions to the city. Without your businesses and your taxes, we cannot fund our various programs for the people.

It is by this realization that we thought of reciprocating your contribution by the establishing the Taguig City Integrated Survey System (TCISS) early in my first term. TCISS is a 300-question house to house survey of the entire city. It is our tool of finding out the actual needs of our people.

Dahil sa TCIIS nakasisiguro na tayo na ang taunang budget ng Taguig ay balanse ayon sa pangangailangan ng iba’t ibang sektor ng lipunan. Naiwasan na ang panghuhula at walang basehang pag- gasta para sa mga programa. Sa ganito ay hindi masasayang ang mahalagang kaban ngating bayan. Naihahatid pa ang mga serbisyo sa mismong tahanan ngating mga kababayan.

Some of Our Key Programs

It is therefore fitting that at this juncture, I share with you some of our key programs funded by your taxes.

Nangunguna sa ating prioridad ang kaledad na edukasyon para sa lahat. Sa loob ng tatlong taon nag kaloob tayo ng mga libreng ready to wear uniforms, shool supplies, sapatos, mga aklat at mga health kits sa mahigit isang daan at dalawampung libong (120,000) mag aaral mula sa mga pambublikong daycare, elementarya at highschool.

Pinagpupursigihan din natin na maging globally competitive ang ating mga mag aaral. Kaya sa ating bansa, Taguig ang kauna-unahang Lokal na pamahalaan na nagkaroon ng Computer Assisted Learning Program—isang pamamaraan ng pagtuturo na nagmula sa bansang Singapore at ginagamit ng ilang pribadong paaralan sa Pilipinas.

I am happy to report to youthat our efforts are paying off. In 2009 Taguig ranked 13th out of the 17 LGUs in Metro Manila inthe National Achievement Test (NAT). Our rank improved to 7th in 2012, then this year, Taguig is already 3rdamong the 17 LGU’s in the NCR. To the DepEd Division of Taguig, let us work harder and aim to be number one.

Umaabot sa mahigit isang bilyong piso kada taon ang inilalaan nating pondo sa edukasyon kabilang ang mga school building projects, teachers trainings and benefits. Bukod pa dito, ang pondo na inilalagak natin sa Taguig City University(TCU) kung saan tayo ay nagkakaloob ng libreng edukasyon sa mahigit 15,000 estudyante.

Mga minamahal naming katuwang sa pribadong sektor, ang ating mga kababayan ay lubos ding nagpapasalamat sa inyo dahil sa pag-asang hatid ng ating scholarship program.

We are proud to say that in the country, we are the only city offering 8 types of scholarships. When I came in 2010, the budget for scholarships were only P5 million but the budget for garbage collection was half a billion pesos. We renegotiated the contract and was able to save 100 million pesos which we channeled to scholarship fund in 2011. Given the encouraging results of the program, P300 million this year.

Sa kasalukuyan, ay nakapamahagi na tayo ng dalawampu’t limang libong (25,000) scholarship grants para sa mga mag-aaral na kumukuha ng certificate courses, technical and vocational courses, kolehiyo, masteral o doctoral degree kabilang ang bar or board review assistance. Ilan na sa ating mga scholars ang pumasok sa top 10 ng kani-kanilang board examinations.

We have around 700 scholars in premier universities, both public and private, with close to 200 of them enrolled at the University of the Philippines. They are all receiving 40,000-50,000 pesos in educational assistance per year.

I fervently pray that you, our partners in the private sector, would start looking at our graduates as potential employees in your company. They are your own. Hindi po sila nakapagtapos o makakapagtapos ng pag aaral kung hindi dahil sa inyong suporta.

The products of your kindness and generosity didn’t stop there. Because of your support, we were able to deliver basic social services efficiently. Again, guided by the TCISS, various sectors are feeling the love, care and support of the Local government.

Our senior citizens in all our barangays began to receive more benefits.

Our persons with disabilities (PWDs) have received their wheelchairs, hearing aide, and crutches delivered right at their doorsteps.

We have also delivered maintenance medicines to our kababayans afflicted with hypertension, asthma and diabetes.

Because of you, we now have a better equipped police and rescue personnel.

Pumapangalawa ang serbisyong pang-kalusugan sa pinaglalaanan ng pondo at atensyon ng Lokal na pamahalaan. Dahil sa inyong pakikiisa, ating naipaayos ang Emergency and Surgery Building ng Taguig City Hospital. Ngayon, ang Taguig ay mayroon nang sariling CT scan machine at mammography machine na lubhang kinakailangan ng ating mga kababayan.

Another innovation to bring health services closer to our people is Taguig’s super health centers. They function like mini hospitals and operate 24 by 7.

A new Emergency hospital is also being constructed along the city’s lakeshore. Ito ay katuparan sa matagal ng pangarap nang mga residente sa unang distrito ng Taguig.

All these are part of our desire to foster and promote inclusive growth in the City of Taguig. This is our brand of stewardship.

More Programs and Projects

Like the servants in the parable, we as public officials must always be ready to account for the trust, support and resources entrusted to us. I would like to believe that we have made them grow, and that the results are well felt by our people.

Ang nakaraang halalan po ay isang paraan ng pagtutos at pagtitimbang. Dito sinukat at hinusgahan kung kami ay naging tapat at mabuting tagapangalaga ng  bayan. Walang hanggang pasasalamat po sa malinaw na mandatong inyong muling ipinagkaloob. Gagamitin po namin itong inspirasyon upang higit na pagbutihin angaming paglilingkod.

Finally, with the support of the new City Council, our administration will focus on further improving our business processes and procedures. We intend to foster closer and better relationships with the business sector.

In closing, may I ask all of you to pray, support, and work with me as we continue to Transform, Lead, and Care for the city of Taguig!

Together let us be good stewards of everything  that our Lord God bestows on all of us, everyday, in the next 3 years and beyond.

Maraming salamat! Pagpalain tayo ng ating Panginoon