Mayor declares continued war vs. criminalities, scores high on peace efforts
A diversified economic base. A globally-responsive business community. A tourist destination in the north. Involved citizenry. And hard stance against criminalities.
Such summed up the over-all administration of retired Police Chief Superintendent Restituto "Boy" Mosqueda, mayor of Estancia, Iloilo's northernmost town.
Such, too, were his own review of nearly a year as Estancia's chief executive.
One of the province's neophyte local chief executives, Mosqueda credits his over three decades of government service in the Philippine National Police (PNP) as the foundation of his "personalized yet highly professionalized" level of governance.
A bemedalled police officer who was repeatedly cited for both combat and administrative works, Mosqueda said though police work and 'military mindset' had since been buried 'six feet under the ground'
"I started fresh as mayor of Estancia and I found this new challenge totally fulfilling as an ordinary citizen with my civilian life. Being mayor has exposed me to other realities of life… for now I am pursuing what I call dynamics of governance. And in the process, I want to make sure that we are able to set-up and work with organizations that will represent various sectors of the Estancia community. At the end of the day, we want political, economic, socio-cultural, information and communication technology and peace and order aspects addressed here," Mosqueda said.
This, he stressed alongside a "relatively peaceful and orderly" year for Estancia.
"We scored major arrests on wanted criminals despite the perennial problem of all local government units (LGU) which is the inadequate number of policemen assigned to us. Our crime solution efficiency was up to 90-95%, our conviction rate in cases filed is higher compared to previous years. And we have initiated efforts to augment our present police force like the support we got from our barangay tanods in various barangays and the civilian volunteers. All these have the multiplier effect in as far as peace and order in Estancia is concerned," the mayor continued while adding in jest, "despite the crisis all over the Philippines, Estancia is still smiling."
Pressed for comment though on the persistent tag with Estancia as "transshipment point of illegal drug trade in Iloilo," Mayor Mosqueda quipped, "you know, that has been happening for several years. They have been saying that and reporting it in the peace and order council meetings. If our law enforcement agencies really believe this to be true, if our peace and order councils have been told of this for years, why can't something concrete be done then?"
"I have declared war against drugs and all forms of illegalities. I am still at war with these. Sometimes I have these frustrations in the manner of our law enforcement, the manner of operations. If rampant, then let us make arrests. If Estancia is the transshipment point, then send in various law enforcement agencies of the government – from the coast guard, to the police, to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), to the customs... everybody so that we can put a stop to this," Mayor Mosqueda said.
Meantime, LGU efforts continue on what Mosqueda stressed is his desire to create more jobs for the locals. This, as his administration he said, opened the doors for more investments.
The mayor is mulling over the passage of a Tax Incentive Ordinance saying taxes is the lifeblood of the town. More investments is equal to more revenues vis a vis taxes for Estancia.
"We want to elevate our town from being classified as Third-Class municipality to being Second-Class municipality. Yes, we also want to put Estancia in the tourism map for we have the best kinds of marine products here. We also believe on our potential as jet-ski and diving spots," the mayor added. "We want to fully empower every marginalized household with a revenue target of at least P1 million a month. So far, I am happy to report, we are way beyond that target."
And remaining plans for his remaining years in office?
"An industrial park for Estancia. That is part of my dream for Estancia," he ended.