‘Bingbong’ joins Belmonte’s team

Opposition congressman Vincent "Bingbong" Crisologo of Quezon City’s first district has joined the "SB Unity" team of Quezon City Mayor Feliciano Belmonte Jr.

"The QC SB Team is the Genuine Unity ticket," Crisologo told reporters at the Weekly Balitaan sa Rembrandt Hotel in Quezon city Belmonte, Vice Mayor Herbert Bautista, majority leader Ariel Inton and Jorge Banal Jr., Bernadette Herrera Dy, Bayani Hipol, Philipp Juico Jr., Victor Ferrer, Francisco Calalay, Aiko Melendez and Wencelito Lagumbay were among the 18 re-electionist councilors present at the forum.

Crisologo, who ran under the United Opposition ticket in the 2004 elections, will join re-electionist Reps. Annie Suzano (second district) Nanette Castelo Daza (third district) and Mat Defensor (fourth district) on Belmonte’s ticket.

Belmonte said the priority programs his administration intends to pursue include major infrastructure projects such as the construction of more roads and school buildings over the next three years, as well as work linking Congressional Avenue to Luzon Ave. and Commonwealth Ave.

He also said the city government will provide support for the Department of Education (DepEd) effort to provide more than 400,000 public elementary and high school students with more skills in computer education, English, Math and Science.

Belmonte said the development programs will be complemented by livelihood assistance programs, improvements in the delivery of health services and other social endeavors to address the poverty that affects at least 30 percent of the city’s 4.2 million residents.

He said the QC SB team is seeking a new mandate to continue the gains achieved by the city over the last six years, which saw the transformation of the city from a financially-distressed local government unit (LGU) into the richest city in the Philippines.

The QC SB team also transformed the city from one of Metro Manila’s dirtiest to the second cleanest and greenest city LGU in the country.

The city has also been elevated to the hall of fame by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) as the country’s "Most Business-Friendly City" over the last three years. — Perseus Echeminada