Aguilar’s legacy: A multi-awarded, highly urbanized city

Mayor Vergel Aguilar will bow out of office this July, taking pride in the role he played in making Las Piñas one of the most awarded highly urbanized cities in the country today.

Aguilar and Vice Mayor Louie Bustamante said the number of prestigious awards and citations both from international and local award giving bodies is unprecedented in the city’s history.

"With all these achievements, we are proud to become a model of other cities. We are very much willing to share our effective and efficient system of governance in line with our goal to provide the basic necessary services not only to Las Piñas but to our people," Aguilar said.

He said the awards have not only added fame to the city, but further boosted the city’s performance, generating more investments and revenue to implement various welfare and infrastructure programs.

As he bows out of office this July, Aguilar however, is confident that the legacy he left after nine years as a public servant will be pursued by his successor, his better half, Imelda, who through the years has supported the city government’s various programs and projects.

Aguilar in particular cited his wife’s role in the clean and green program which made Las Piñas world class when the city received the United Nations Global 500 Roll of Honor for Environmental Achievement award given by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in Australia in June 2000.

Others include the Hall of Fame Awards for Cleanest and Greenest City in NCR for three consecutive years (1997-1999), Cleanest Public Market Award granted by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), the Department of Health (DOH) Sentrong Sigla awards for having the best health facilities and best in nutrition in the whole Philippines, the Consistent Regional Outstanding Winner in Nutrition or the CROWN award for the city’s outstanding performance in reducing malnutrition for three consecutive years, the Best Police Station in NCR and the Anti-Drug Abuse Recognition given by the Philippine National Police to the Las Piñas Anti-Drug Abuse Council (LPCADAC) for its effective campaign against illegal drugs.