Mayor Rivera directs new barangay officials to make CLEAN GenSan priority

GENERAL SANTOS CITY(12 February 2014)  – Mayor Ronnel Rivera has directed the Barangay Newly Elected Officials (BNEOs) to make CLEAN GenSan program their priority being the direction that the local government of General Santos City is taking under his administration.

During the BNEOs Orientation and Training by the Department of Interior and Local Government 12 on February 07 in Koranadal, South Cotabato, Rivera reiterated his administration’s thrust to strive for a CLEAN GenSan or (Creating a Livable Environment for All Generals towards Nation Building).

Mayor Rivera gave a lecture for the BNEOs regarding the priority projects that they must pursue in their respective barangays, which must focus on education, health and modified social services.

Rivera stated that for the projects of the BNEOs to receive support from the city government, they must align it with the CLEAN GenSan program which was consolidated and budgeted in the recent Executive-Legislative Agenda (ELA).

“The local government can’t simply fund any of your projects that have no budget in the ELA in the first place. As new leaders, we must be resourceful in implementing our projects that are both efficient and that would also benefit our constituents,” Rivera said.

He also said that through the examples he set, the synergy between the barangay officials and the local government of General Santos City will be strengthened and practiced.

This received approval and salutations from the newly elected barangay officials who have long acknowledged the limitations of the city government’s budget.

In the 2014 ELA, most of the budgeted programs are focused and or related to the priority areas stated in the CLEAN GenSan agenda of Mayor Rivera.

To address the insufficiency of resources of the local government, the mayor pushed for the institutionalization of Public-Private Partnership (PPP) in the city where private investors will join government ventures and initiatives.

Along with that, last February 06, Rivera mandated the City Economic Management and Cooperative Development Office (CEMCDO) to create the PPP Center and PPP Code with the assistance of the Public-Private Partnership Center of the Philippines (PPPCP).

At the end of his lecture, Rivera emphasized to the BNEOs that inadequacies must not be seen as hindrance but challenges that need to be overcome. (GENSAN INFO OFFICE/Ian John M. Lagare)