‘I am Mandaue’ movement launched ahead of city fiesta

Mandaue City officials kicked off the city’s two-week fiesta celebration last Saturday with the launching of the “I am Mandaue” movement at the Mandaue City Hall grounds. “This is geared towards building a ‘character city’ starting with ourselves,” City Administrator James Abadia said. City Information Officer Roger Paller said this is achieved by building participatory governance. Paller said the program is part of Mandaue City’s compliance with the Performance Governance System (PGS) in partnership with the Institute for Solidarity in Asia. The movement's launching was attended city employees and officials led by Mayor Jonas Cortes. On a “freedom wall”, they wrote their answer to the question: “If you were Mandaue, what characteristic or trait best describes you?” Mayor Jonas Cortes wrote: “I am for good governance.” The 12 finalists of Ms. Mandaue 2013 also wrote their respective answers. The launch was followed by a motorcade that ended with a Holy Mass at the National Shrine of St. Joseph. Mandaue City celebrates the feast day of St. Joseph every May 8. Nightly entertainment will be held at the Heritage Plaza in front of City Hall leading to the fiesta. Paller said the city government will print T-shirts marked with “I am Mandaue” to be worn by City Hall employees who attended seminars and training under the PGS. “People are used to waiting on their officials. What we want is participatory governance,” he added. Reporter Jucell Marie P. Cuyos