Social services are Calapan City’s top priority – mayor

CALAPAN CITY, Oriental Mindoro — Calapan City is prioritizing social services, with more funds earmarked for education, housing, senior citizens, persons with disabilities, farmers, fisherfolk, and informal settlers, Mayor Paulino Salvador Leachon said in his State of the City Address on Thursday, Oct. 1.

The mayor announced that more funds would go directly to sectors that matter most to residents: education, housing, senior citizens, persons with disabilities, farmers, fisherfolk, and informal settlers.

Leachon also reported substantial increases in education funding, including expanded scholarship programs, school facility upgrades, and direct financial aid to students from low-income households.

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For the agriculture and fisheries sectors, which he described as the backbone of the city’s economy, the mayor highlighted expanded livelihood assistance, modernized post-harvest facilities, and the continued distribution of high-yield seeds and fishing gear to small-scale producers.

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“Our farmers and fisherfolk feed this city. It is only right that we prioritize their progress alongside everyone else’s,” he added.

Among his key announcements was the comprehensive relocation of informal settlers living along danger-prone riverbanks, as well as farmers displaced by infrastructure and development projects in Barangay Guinobatan.

The city government has secured a two-hectare government-owned parcel in Barangay Guinobatan to serve as the new community site.

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The city will fully fund the development and site preparation, including road access, drainage, water supply, and power connections, at no cost to the relocated families.

A separate livelihood and resettlement grant will be distributed to affected farming households to help them establish new sources of income immediately after relocation.

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The mayor also reported the completion and upgrading of 12 kilometers of farm-to-market roads across seven barangays and the operational launch of the Calapan City 911 Emergency Hotline, the first in the entire Mimaropa region, to ensure faster responses to medical, fire, and police emergencies.

He also reported the expansion of the city’s socialized housing program, with four new housing sites in various stages of development, as well as the cleanup and rehabilitation of major waterways, coupled with strict enforcement of anti-dumping ordinances to reduce flood risks.

Leachon said the city government had also streamlined business permit processing and digitized frontline services to cut red tape.

He stressed that the administration’s approach was rooted in inclusive growth, ensuring that progress reaches marginalized communities, persons with disabilities, senior citizens, and indigenous groups within the city.

“Development means nothing if it leaves anyone behind. Every Calapan resident — regardless of where they live or what they do — deserves a safe home, decent opportunities, and a government that stands with them,” Leachon declared.

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The city is also allocating bigger budgets to departments that directly serve these sectors to ensure that assistance reaches people faster. /mcm