Quezon City celebrates Philippine Councilors’ Week

The Philippine Councilors’ League (PCL), the country’s largest organization of councilors, celebrates this year’s PCL Week from Sept. 1 to 7, with the theme, "Kabalikat sa Pagtataguyod ng isang Matatag na Republika."

Councilor Eric Medina, president pro tempore and official representative of the City Council of the Metro Manila Philippines Councilors’ League (MMPCL), announced that local government officials led by Quezon City Mayor Feliciano Belmonte Jr. and Vice Mayor Herbert Bautista have expressed strong support for the holding of socio-civic oriented activities in observance of PCL Week.

Quezon City councilors spearheaded by Medina (district 2), majority floor leader Antonio Inton (district 4) and Jorge "Bolet" Banal Jr. (district 3) have lined up activities that include a photo-exhibit, livelihood seminars, a mega job fair, tree-planting activity, free eye glass distribution, recognition rites and a sportsfest, all to be held at the Quezon City Hall grounds.

A thanksgiving Mass will be celebrated and televised live over ABS-CBN Channel 2 at 7 a.m. tomorrow, with former council president pro tempore and immediate past MMPCL chairman Jorge Banal as Mass commentator.

Simple opening rites in the morning of Sept. 1 featured the start of the photo-exhibit at the Quezon City Hall covered walk and livelihood seminars in the afternoon that were open to the public.

Visitations and gift-giving were held at the Molave Youth Hall, the city jail and the Tahanan Rehabilitation Center after the First Friday Mass, with Fr. Archie Guiriba of the Shalom International Catholic Charismatic Foundation as presider and Belmonte and Bautista doing the Prayer of a Leader and Thanksgiving Prayer, respectively.

As highlight to the week-long celebration, former councilors who have served as PCL and MMPCL chairmen and those recently elected to congressional positions will be honored during the flag-raising ceremonies at Quezon City Hall on Monday, with Belmonte and Bautista delivering inspirational messages.

Immediately thereafter, Lions District 301-D1 led by IP vice governor Mariano Sideco jointly with the city councilors will give away three thousand reading eye glasses with the following Lions’ Clubs as major donors: QC Masigasig, QC Malaya, QC Mabuhay, Valenzuela Executive, Valenzuela Lakambini, Valenzuela Millennium, Tarlac Host, Angeleños, Cavaliers and Caloocan City Bagong Pag-Asa.

Established in 1990, the PCL has a primary objective of giving life, meaning and substance to the constitutional mandate on local autonomy and decentralization of powers alongside its primary mandate of exercising legislative powers on matters of local concern. It aims to bring the government closer to the people, to strengthen rapport and camaraderie among the members of the local legislative assemblies and to formulate, implement and coordinate programs, projects and activities that will benefit the members of the PCL and their constituents.