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MAYOR MA. LOURDES C. FERNANDO
STATE OF THE CITY ADDRESS
6^th Regular Session of the 5^th City Council of Marikina
10 February 2010

I stand before you tonight to deliver my last State of the City Address as your incumbent City Mayor. I stand here brimming with confidence that we have accomplished what we have set out to do for our city.

Steadfastly and painstakingly, we have revitalized our city over the past nine years. Hindi lang natin naiayos ang ating kapaligiran – ang ating mga nagawa ay nakapagbigay rin ng dangal, karakter, at kumpyansa sa sarili. There is no better proof of our milestones in governance than the respect and admiration that our city enjoys both nationally and internationally. Taas-noo tayong tumutugon sa anumang pagkakataon dahil sa pagtitiwala at paggalang natin sa ating sarili.  Ngiti ng pag-asa ay pangkaraniwang nakikita sa mukha ng bawat isa.  In many instances, we have provided benchmarks, and we have set the tone that inspired countless Filipinos to believe that change is possible.

As colorful as the national elections, Marikina’s politics is nevertheless just as exciting come May 2010. Four (4) of the incumbent city councilors’ terms will be ending on May 2010 and some of them seek re-election in higher positions. The incumbent Vice Mayor, Dr. Marion S. Andres’ term will also be ending on May 2010 and he has chosen to run the Mayoralty race and will be competing with three (3) other candidates. Five (5) candidates will also be vying for the Vice Mayor’s position.

Candidates will be coming from five (5) parties namely: Bagumbayan-VNP, Lakas Kampi CMD, Liberal Party, Nationalist People’s Coalition and Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino. Candidates who were not picked by any party will brave their way to the local elections as Independent candidates.

A complete list of the official candidates for the 2010 local elections in Marikina City are as follows:

MAYOR:

Marion Santos Andres a.k.a. Dr. Marion – Bagumbayan VNP

Alfredo Senga Cheng a.k.a. Boy – Lakas Kampi CMD

Del Reyes De Guzman a.k.a. Del – Liberal Party

Johnn Alexander San Pedro Chong a.k.a. Alex Chong – Independent

The last day of filing of Certificates of Candidacy (COC) on December 1, 2009 paved way for the revelation of surprise candidates and team-ups for the 2010 National Elections in the Philippines.

Among the surprise team-ups is the so-called “Transformers” comprised by none other than Senator Richard “Dick” Gordon who filed his COC as Presidential candidate and Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman, Bayani “BF” Fernando as his Vice-President.

A World Health Organization (WHO) official announced on Monday that the swine flu pandemic has grown “unstoppable” and that all countries need access to vaccines as seven (7) new deaths were reported coming from Britain, Thailand and the Philippines. As the death toll increases, the WHO official said that a swine flu vaccine should be available by September and that all countries would need to be able to protect themselves.

Health workers should be the top priority for the vaccines since they will be in high demand as people continue to get sick. Pregnant women and anyone over six months old with chronic health problems should be next in the list of priorities, said the WHO official. A special attention should also be given to children since they are considered “amplifiers” of the spread of the virus, especially when gathered in schools.

In reaction to the uproar over “disappearing loads” caused by Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) announced on Tuesday that starting on July 19, the shelf life of cellular phone credits will be “tripled”. Prepaid load of P10 or less will be extended to three (3) days and the load of more than P300 will be stretched to four (4) months. NTC likewise announced that effective July 23, unsolicited or promotional text messages would be prohibited.

The expiry of mobile phone credits of P10 to P50 will be extended from two days to five days to fifteen days; more than P50 to P100, 30 days; more than P100 to P250, 60 days; more than P250 to P300, 75 days. Sen. Mar Roxas who presided over the hearings on desappearing cell phone loads  said that, “With this, our money will no longer disappear as if they just evaporated or expired. This is a good output of the hearings.”

The proposed November 14 fight between pound for pound boxing king Manny Pacquiao and Puerto Rico’s Miguel Cotto at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas is being negotiated by both camps. Pacquiao’s adviser, Manny Konez met with promoter Bob Arum and said that he was pleasantly surprised with the offer. Although Arum nor Konez would not say if the split would be 75-30 or 65-35 in Pacquiao’s favor.

Konez also said, “But it’s a negotiation, so we probably won’t accept the first offer, but we’re not far off. The talks I had with Bob were good. So I will bring Manny the offer. We’ll probably counter, but I think it will get worked out. We’re really not that far off. I can’t say for sure, though, because Manny makes that decision, but I think it looks good. This is the fight Manny says he wants.”

Despite having a total of 1, 367 patients who recovered from the A(H1N1) or the “swine flu” infections in the Philippines, still it has ranked No. 8 worldwide in terms of confirmed cases, overtaking Argentina and Japan. The World Health Organization (WHO), in its latest pandemic update issued on July 3, showed the Philippines with a total of 1,709 confirmed cases while Japan has 1,466 and Argentina with 1,587.

In Southeast Asia, the Philippines ranked first, surpassing Thailand with 1, 414 cases of influenza infections. However, A(H1N1) related deaths in the Philippines are lower with only one case documented since the outbreak of the flu virus in April. The United States still remains as the country with the most number of deaths at 170, followed by Mexico with 119 deaths.

A total of 89,921 cases have already been recorded by WHO, following the discovery of 12,520 newly confirmed cases. These cases are mostly from the US with 6,185, Mexico withe 1,582, Chile with 1,165, United Kingdom with 909 and the Philippines with 848 new cases.

Smartmatic and TIM are expected to submit their incorporation papers to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Monday and sign the contract with the Comelec by Friday. The signing of the contract will pave way for the country’s first fully automated elections in 2010.

The family of the King of Pop, Michael Jackson planned a public viewing for his fans on Friday, as announced by CNN and the celebrity news website TMZ.com. Jackson’s body will make a final journey to Neverland Ranch on Thursday with a 30-car motorcade to escort his body. Fans are clamoring that his remains be buried at the ranch and that it be transformed as a shrine similar to that of Elvis Presley in Graceland.

Neverland has been in disarray since 2005 when charges were filed against Jackson for alleged child molestation. After his acquittal, Jackson has not returned to live in Neverland.

Former President Corazon “Cory” Aquino has been suffering from colon cancer since March 2008. She is presently confined in Makati Medical Center for a week and a half due to loss of appetite. Her spokesperson, Deedee Siytangco said that she refused to undergo another cycle of chemotherapy.

Prayers have been pouring in for the beloved Cory Aquino. Earlier yesterday, a healing mass was held for Cory and for others who are afflicted with the same sickness at the Greenbelt 5 chapel in Makati City. Among those present at the mass were former members of the Aquino Cabinet led by former Senate President Franklin Drilon and wife.