VM-elect Guiani-Sayadi to prioritize traffic ordinance and eco park

COTABATO CITY (May 28, 2016) - COTABATO City’s newly elected Vice Mayor Atty. Frances Cynthia Guiani-Sayadi is now preparing the priority ordinances and projects that the Sangguniang Panlungsod will pass under her chairmanship.

Her top priority will be looking into the city’s existing traffic ordinance and amend its provisions that no longer fit to the current traffic situation in the City.

Vice Mayor Guiani-Sayadi plans to impose stiffer penalties to those who violate the traffic rules and also implement rerouting of vehicles to decongest the main thoroughfares of the city, especially during peak hours.

While admitting that traffic is growing by the day, she also said it is just but a “side effect” of progress.

But still, the city government will exert all it can under its power to alleviate the problems caused by traffic jams, she said.

“We have heard the clamor of the people to have a solution to the traffic problem of the city and this is what I want to act upon immediately when I assume office. We have already prepared a plan and we will be tapping our private sector and our law enforcers to help us in implementing the law,” Guiani-Sayadi said.

Aside from giving solution to the traffic problem of the city, Vice Mayor Guiani-Sayadi will encourage the City Council to pass an ordinance for transforming an area in Cotabato City as an Eco Park.

The establishment of an Eco Park is seen as an effective solution for proper garbage disposal in the city. The Eco Park will be compose of a dumpsite, a composting facility, a material recovery facility, and at the same time a venue for educational tours on how to reduce, re-use, and recycle garbage.

Aside from establishing the Eco Park, the city government will continue its campaign on Proper Solid Waste Management and instill into the minds of the residents the “segregation at source” or the segregation of different types of waste materials inside their own homes.

Penalties will be strictly imposed upon those who fail to abide with the laws that will be passed by the City Council.

“Our dumpsite at Biniruan is almost full and we have nowhere else to put our waste. So it will be more convenient if Cotabato City will have its own Eco Park. Through this, our residents will see for themselves and have a clear idea on how to manage their waste disposal and at the same time promote entrepreneurship through waste diversion programs,” Guiani-Sayadi said.

These two programs are the top priority in the “to-do list” of Cotabato City’s newly elected city vice mayor, its former city administrator, Atty. Frances Cynthia Guiani-Sayadi.

Being a lawyer by profession, Atty. Guiani-Sayadi says that sitting as the presiding officer of the Sangguniang Panlungsod will be her main focus and that she will make sure that with her guidance and leadership, the city councilors will be able to exercise their duties to the people up to its full extent.

She also promised to be supportive of the projects of the city mayor and her brother Japal J. Guiani, Jr. as long as these programs will benefit the majority of the people of the city.

“I will make sure that it will be a working Sangguniang Panlungsod. I will stand for truth and governance. I don’t want any squabble in the city council and I am hoping that our councilors will set aside their political leanings and cooperate with us,” she added.

To make government transactions easier and more convenient, city officials are now studying the possibility of creating a database and make every transaction made with the city government computerized and available online.

With this system, clients can apply for permits, schedule appointments, inquire about requirements, and pay online anytime and anywhere and just come to the city hall when their schedules are up or their permits are ready for releasing.

Even the employees of the city government will be able to benefit from this project. They can already check their status online, see their leave credits, apply for loans, and other transactions with just a few clicks on their phones or computers.

City Mayor Japal J. Guiani, Jr. said that getting online is the city government’s way of conforming to the modern times and keeping with the digital age where almost everything is available through the internet.

A technical working group will be created to conduct a feasibility study on this project and tap  both government and non-government agencies that can provide assistance in its realization.

“This will be a first in Region-12 and we really want our people to receive the best services that the city government can provide them. This is why we are really aiming for the computerization of all our transactions by the end of this year,” Mayor Guiani said.

All of these projects concentrate on the progress and development that Cotabato City is now experiencing under the Guiani administration. With the help and cooperation of every Cotabateño, the city’s newly elected officials will be able to implement projects and apply the full force of the law.

City Mayor Guiani, Jr. and City Vice Mayor-elect Atty. Guiani-Sayadi thank the Cotabateños for the trust and confidence that they have given their tandem.

The officials are hopeful that the constituents will continue to support them and be one in shaping a city that is more developed and a people that is more disciplined, purpose-driven, and spiritually inspired. (Halima Satol-Ibrahim)