• CHERYL G. CRUZ
Mayor Raymund Tongson said March 29 that he is aiming for a first-class component city classification for Himamaylan before his term ends in 2028.
“We’re praying for that, hopefully next year or in 2028 (since) Himamaylan is already a Hall of Famer in the Seal of Good Local Governance (SGLG) award which is a very big advantage as this shows that the performance of the city government is good, that’s why we’ve reached this level,” Tongson said on the sidelines of the 6th Himaya Festival arena dancing competition at the Himamaylan National High School grounds last night.
Himamaylan, which upgraded as a second-class component city of Negros Occidental last year, was awarded the SGLG in 2022, 2023, and 2024 by the Department of the Interior and Local Government “for its exceptional management and quality public service.”
Tongson had said the SGLG is “a perfect way to validate the efforts and hard work of our local government unit, demonstrating our commitment to transparency, accountability, and the effective delivery of services to our community…and a testament to our commitment to serving Himamaylanons with integrity.”
He stressed the city should not lose the momentum to develop further. “We cannot sleep and then wake up and realize that Himamaylan is again in the same state as before” since it has already been proven that the city and its people can do and achieve so much more.
Tongson also said that this year’s charter anniversary of Himamaylan is special. “We’re celebrating 25 years of cityhood, a one big event that centers on the theme ‘One City, One People’, and we’ve been getting many positive comments and responses” since the start of the celebration March 23.
Despite the present challenge of rising fuel costs due to the Middle East conflict, Tongson said they decided to push through with the charter celebration. “Ang Negrosanon, lain ang kultura. Ang kapistahan isa sa gapa unite sa aton, gapahanumdum sa aton nga bisan nano pa ang gakatabo sa aton, masarangan ta ni tanan. We have to balance everything (and need) to boost the morale of the people.”
But he assured that, aside from the assistance from the national government, the LGU also has a lot of programs for implementation to help residents amid the current challenges. | CGC
