Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Junard ‘Ahong’ Chan. | file photo
LAPU-LAPU CITY, Cebu—Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Junard “Ahong” Chan praised President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. in his first ever State of the Nation Address on Monday afternoon, July 25, 2022.
Chan lauded the different programs and projects that the Marcos administration aims to implement concerning agriculture, public health, internet connectivity, education, and tourism, among others.
The mayor said that he is in favor of the president’s pronouncement on the agricultural modernization program, which he described as “very important to the nation’s economy.
He added that the government needs to help the farmers by giving them support to improve their productivity and increase agricultural production.
“President Marcos said in his speech, a moratorium will give the farmers the ability to channel their resources in developing their farms, maximizing their capacity to produce and propel the growth of our economy, which is true,” Chan said in a statement.
Chan also commends Marcos for ensuring balance and protection of public health and economic development of the country amidst the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID)-19 pandemic.
“Nakadayeg ko sa iyang kagustohan nga dili na kinahanglan mag lockdown sa atong nasud. Kitang tanan nakasaksi kung unsa kalisud ang atong sitwasyon kaniadto. Ang kinahanglan natong i-focus kay mao ang pagpaningkamot nga mahaw-as ug maka-recover nga gyud ta totally gikan sa COVID,” he added.
Chan also supports adding booster shots against COVID-19 to ensure that all Filipinos would no longer be vulnerable to the virus, especially Children who would return to full face-to-face classes in the upcoming school year.
He said the administration is now studying other classifications that will fit the changing nature of COVID-19 in the country.
“We must bring medical services to the people just like what we did in our city dubbed as the “Libreng Serbisyo Para sa Tanan”. we continue to encourage everyone to get their booster shots in preparation for the resumption of face-to-face classes,” he said.
Chan is also glad that President Marcos ordered the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) to deploy digital connectivity across the country as this will benefit students and can be used for digital payments and e-commerce.
Earlier, the Lapu-Lapu City Government said it will give free laptops to public school teachers and tablets to all junior and senior high school students so they can participate fully in the digital community.
Chan also lauded Marcos for continuing the infrastructure programs of former President Rodrigo Duterte; and building more power plants so that the country will have more sources of energy, especially renewable energy.
The mayor is confident and determined that the country will continue to rise this year, as it reopens to the world, especially since tourism is the bread and butter of the city.
He added that prioritizing tourism will promote the Filipino brand of hospitability and will create more jobs.
/bmjo
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