NAGA CITY---Describing the economic situation for the past 12 months “a storm that threatens whole societies,” Mayor Jesse Robredo, 2000 Ramon Magsaysay Awardee for Government Service, said the city’s local economy remains robust despite the onslaught of soaring fuel prices and double digit inflation.

        Addressing the city council here Tuesday morning for the state of the city address, Robredo reported a slight increase of 3.9 percent in the 612 newly registered enterprises as of the end of June 2008, compared to 591 registered enterprises in June 2007, that he said valued P454 million in total investments.

        “In spite of the doubling cost of construction materials, we issued 46 percent more building

        permits this year over 2007, netting P562 million this year, 50.6 percent higher than last year’s P373 million,” he said.

        Robredo noted, however, a decrease in application and approval of new subdivision permits from six last year to only three this year even as he reported a jack up in the value of investments from P59.5 million in 2007 to P376 million in 2008.

        The mayor claimed the investments at the end of June 2008 have generated some 5,568 new jobs, based on the standard government computation that every P250,000 investment adds one job into the local economy.

        “Moreover, data from the Metro Naga Chamber of Commerce and Industry business registry shows that the local economy is in fact more robust than we expect it to be. A total of 1,217 new firms opened shop in 2007, bringing the total to 8,303 from 7,086 in 2006---a bigger 17 percent increase,” Robredo went on.

        He said the local economy has also been propped up by a thriving underground economy that he said served the people well in difficult time wherein roughly one of every three firms registered belong to the informal sector.

        Naga City with a population of less than 200,000 belongs to category of small cities in the Philippines. The Asian Institute of Management declared it as among the most competitive cities in the country.

Public satisfaction

        Mayor Robredo’s report also focused on the city’s accomplishment in “building a more progressive city, establishing a livable urban district, and sustaining world-class governance system” amid grim situation fueled by rising cost of living.

        Robredo especially cited economic indicators showing that the city’s economy remained “vibrant” and “resilient” amid economic uncertainties felt worldwide

        He said city residents had a high level of satisfaction on the overall performance of city government officials, as reflected by a recent survey of Ateneo de Naga University’s Social Science Research Center.

        According to him, the main reason why the city government had enjoyed a high level of satisfaction and trust among city residents was its innovative pro-poor programs, including programs in housing (Kaantabay), education (NEED, Sanggawadan, and QUEEN), livelihood and enterprise development (Metro PESO and CSWDO’s microlending), health and nutrition (Sentrong Sigla, Nutri-Ataman/Nanay/Dunong) which, he said, alleviated poverty in the city.

        He said city government programs had contributed in achieving the target Millennium Development Goal numbers for the city including lower malnutrition and cohort survival rate for schoolchildren.

Naga City Coliseum

        Robredo said that he remained convinced of the necessity of fully developing the Naga City Coliseum which would need P155 million, so the city government would proceed with the needed borrowings as it takes advantage of the fixed competitive interest rate, adding that the P155 million adjusted project cost was driven by the 100-200% increase in cement, steel bars and other construction materials.

        He said that from a purely financial standpoint, the original projection that the Naga City Coliseum would be able to pay for itself was no longer true. Instead, the cost of fully developing the facility would be subsidized by the city. But with revenues from the SM mall coming on stream starting next year, he said that current levels of socioeconomic services of the city government would not be compromised by the full development of the coliseum.

        He added that from a broader economic standpoint, the completion of the coliseum would generate direct and indirect benefits to the city’s economy that conventional cash flow projections could not do. This would be in the form of new enterprises that would be established, jobs that would be created, and various sociocultural events that would benefit society as a whole, he said.

Land Valuation

        On real property valuation reform, he said the city government would clearly distinguish between real property valuation (which is a technical exercise mandated by law) and taxation, which would be open for discussion and negotiation.

        He said that in response to the position taken by the Metro Naga Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the city government would reduce existing tax rates.

        He also mentioned the establishment of a new sanitary landfill once Balatas dumpsite was closed, along with the revitalization of Naga River.

        He said that the city government would assign persons to monitor Balatas-Dayangdang and the Isla-Penafrancia area to contain illicit drug trade that continues to proliferate in the area.

Urban Renewal Project

        He said the P10 million urban renewal projects in the city’s old central business district had been started, and lampposts would be installed to complement the ones placed along Panganiban and Magsaysay Avenues. Plaza Quezon in the city proper would also be improved.

        The city mayor also said that the city government would be investing P4 million to set up Plaza Nueva Caceres beside the Naga City Public Market. The new plaza would feature monuments depicting important events in the city’s colonial past.

        Another monument dedicated to Tomas and Luduvico Arejola would rise at the intersection of P. Diaz and Gen. Luna St. This project would be a tripartite undertaking between the city government, the Arejola Foundation, and city residents, he said.

        To anchor the recommended historical walk within the city proper, markers for historical sites would be put up in places that used to be part of the original Ciudad de Nueva Caceres.

        Robredo said he was confident that these projects would be carried out through multisectoral participation.