HOPE, OPTIMISM. Cagayan de Oro City Mayor Oscar Moreno attends a mass on Monday (June 15, 2020) prior to the ceremonies marking the city's 70th Charter Day commemoration. Moreno hopes that amid the challenges caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the city will be back on its feet and will eventually be able to rebuild and recover. (Photo courtesy of City Information Office)
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY--A message of hope and optimism to recover from the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic was this year's highlight as the city celebrates its 70th Charter Day commemoration on Monday (June 15).
Traditionally held at the Kiosko Kagawasan (freedom park) and attended by hundreds of government functionaries, the annual commemoration was aired live via cable channel and online live stream on social media, in keeping with the Covid-19 health protocols.
Mayor Oscar Moreno, who rendered his annual report coinciding with the event, said the city--having survived and rebuilt from the ruins of both World War II and typhoon Sendong in 2011--expressed confidence Cagayan de Oro and its residents "will not only survive but overcome and build back better" amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
"These are difficult times and there is a cloud of uncertainty hovering over us because of the pandemic. But we in City Government have painstakingly made every effort and built partnerships with every stakeholder to address this crisis and beyond it all, we see and continue to believe in the indomitable spirit of every resident," Moreno said.
Some of the highlights of Moreno's report included the status of the eight-point development agenda: health and hospital services, poverty alleviation, public order and safety, traffic and tourism, education and environmental management, "metropolization", revenue generation and resettlement, agricultural productivity, and infrastructure and investments.
Moreno also thanked the various city departments, as well as the Department of Health (DOH) and the Northern Mindanao Medical Center (NMMC) for their invaluable contributions amid the Covid-19 crisis.
He said their efforts will help in the "gradual easing of restrictions in the city in the days to come".
"In the beginning, the crisis seemed overwhelming. But thanks to CHO (City Health Office), DOH-10, NMMC, the men and women of City Hall and the private sector, we are slowly but surely building our testing capacity to serve not only Cagayan de Oro City but the upper half of Mindanao," the mayor said.
He said the virus may have affected the communities "but the city government will not give up". "We will overcome this if we all work together. We will rise to the next level and build a better City for our children and for the generations to come," Moreno said. (PNA)
