Mayor Quiambao Keeps Bayambang’s Revolutionary Spirit Alive
Bayambang – the fifth and last capital of the First Philippine Republic – keeps the revolutionary spirit of our country's forefathers alive, with Mayor Cezar T. Quiambao at the helm.
Revolutions come and go as former enemies become best of friends, and to Mayor Quiambao's mind, a new revolution needs to be forged in keeping with the times, as he saw first-hand how his own people are still mired deep in poverty despite 400 years of existence.
So on August 28, 2017, he took it upon himself to launch his Rebolusyon Laban sa Kahirapan (Revolution Against Poverty), probably the town's biggest battle since Andres Malong and Juan dela Cruz Palaris staged a revolt against the ruling Spaniards in 1660 and 1763 and Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo fought off American invasion in 1899.
Armed with formidable experience in the global corporate world and his visionary and transformative style of leadership, Mayor Quiambao developed a multi-pronged approach in facing a complicated enemy head-on, based on his vision of Bayambang as a smart town with five major attributes: (1) observant of best practices in local governance, (2) caring deeply for its citizens while steeped in its rich historical and cultural heritage, (3) has a robust economy backed up by strong infrastructure, (4) unafraid of modern agricultural strategies, and (5) resilient in times of calamity and observant of green practices.
In all five respects, Mayor Quiambao brings his brave, even daring, vision to the table, even in the face of various setbacks and withering, politically motivated criticism.
For three years in his first term, he made history in all fronts, and into his second term, it feels like he has just started rolling up his sleeves, using the Bayambang Poverty Reduction Plan 2018-2028 as his 'bible,' for which he gave the marching orders to be drafted.
Visionary Leadership and Transformational Governance
Hardly had he warmed his chair when he reorganized the LGU, transferring employees to where they should best fit, according to skill set and qualification. He created new offices – General Services, Public Order and Safety, Public Information, Tourism and Cultural Affairs, Information and Communications Technology, Legal Office, Nutrition Office, Internal Audit Unit, Public Employment Services Office, Cooperative Development Office – and, with this, dozens of plantilla positions, as deemed urgent and necessary.
He fast-tracked the passing of essential ordinances and resolutions, including the updating of the obsolete Tax Code and Market Code.
Bayambang’s positive financial scorecard is a proof of Mayor Quiambao’s responsible fiscal management, thanks in large part to his anti-corruption drive, which is made possible by his full disclosure policy and an LGU-wide computerization project. As a result, the local revenue (excluding IRA) reached unprecedented levels, from P54.38M in 2016 to P201.62M in 2020. The number of registered businesses also increased from 774 in 2014 to 1,580 in 2020.
Many locals have a negative perception of taxes, but he took huge political risks in even trying to turn this around with his massive tax education campaign, resulting in Bayambang snatching the 5th place in local revenue collection efficiency nationwide in 2017.
Another of the first steps he implemented was to update the Citizen's Charter and streamline the application for business by establishing the Business Processing and Licensing Office and One-Stop Shop/Negosyo Center right at the entrance, cutting business application time to just one day.
He also introduced the concept of the Bayambang Community Service Card, a smart card, to serve as a screening tool for bona fide Bayambang residents and is designed to offer other features such as discount card, etc.
He also established an application for a Community Based Monitoring System so that it reflects accurate data that will serve as solid basis for barangay plans and projects.
The LGU-wide computerization project featured a Full Revenue Generation System and an Input-Output Management System, resulting in Bayambang consistently receiving major DigitalCitiesPH awards from the DILG and DICT.
Mayor CTQ, as he is fondly called, was relentless in pursuing personnel growth and development through various means. Groundbreaking ceremonies were made for his LGU Ville project for employees who want to acquire their own home and land at low interest rates. One of his latest projects is granting 50% scholarship for masteral and doctorate degrees in PSU-Bayambang.
Moreover, he has dramatically increased the number of official vehicles to make it more convenient for employees to bring services fast to the barangays.
He is currently preparing the LGU to be certified in ISO 9001:2015 (Quality management systems).
Mayor Quiambao has made it a practice to consult all Punong Barangays in his regular executive sessions with them, and this bore fruit through the barangay profiling project to determine the needs profile of each barangay.
He also either activated or created so many special bodies, enjoining many constituents from all walks to lend a hand in their area of expertise in partnership with the LGU.
He did not shy away from delicate issues such as the case of the relocated Bayambang Central School, the demolition of the Homeowners Saving Bank sitting on plaza grounds, the case of the former Mangabul Lake which will soon be converted to an agricultural land after more than 70 years of disputes, thanks to Deputy House Speaker Rose Marie ‘Baby’ Arenas.
Making Deep Sociocultural Impact
He increased the budget for medical services, improved and expanded Rural Health Units (RHU) I and II, and pushed for the establishment of RHU III, IV, and V (under construction). He introduced the automation of medical records through the paperless iClinicSys and even initiated the establishment of the St. Vincent Ferrer Dialysis Center, a private facility.
He hired a Municipal Nutritionist to give special attention to the town's malnourished children, and this drastically improved the health of local youngsters.
Several medical missions in partnership with private groups from Manila and the US have benefited tens of thousands of locals in need of free medical, dental, and surgical attention and eye care, saving more than P18M for free services.
The ANCOP Village, a free housing project for members of DSWD’s Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, was made possible under his direction, in partnership with Couples for Christ-Answering the Cry of the Poor (CFC-ANCOP) and Kasama Kita sa Barangay Foundation. He was able to dispose – after 50 long years – the LGU's Magsaysay property to long-time occupants via an attractive payment scheme.
His concern for education is paramount, believing in its role in freeing families out of poverty. He has donated his salary to the Local School Board, which goes a long way in benefiting teachers and students through school infrastructure projects, free school supplies, sports funding, and college student assistance.
He transferred and expanded the Municipal Library to a repurposed structure and made it a Tech4Ed library offering a cache of e-gov services, including free online appointment for PSA certificates.
His eager support for DSWD's Sustainable Livelihood Programs made Bayambang snag the PaNaTa Ko sa Bayan GAPAS Award of DSWD in March 2019 as a “Model in Microenterprise Development.”
He rewarded seed capitals to special groups such as the LGBTQI and the successful ice-cream manufacturers of Brgy. Bani.
His community outreach program dubbed Komprehensibong Serbisyo sa Bayan has benefited tens of thousands of Bayambangueños by giving them a taste of all local government services at their very doorstep, spelling great convenience to those living in the 66 outlying barangays who often have limited means of going to the Poblacion.
He organized and assisted special groups who are especially vulnerable to poverty. With his wife Niña, he built the Abong na Aro or House of Love to shelter abused women and children.
The mass weddings he has officiated are routinely leveled up to make it more memorable for couples.
His consistent support for artistic and cultural endeavors endears him to his constituents as patron of culture and the arts, as he paves the way for many firsts, thus strengthening the town’s identity and pride of place: official hymn, social dance, institutionalization of SingKapital or the commemoration of Bayambang as the country's fifth capital during the 1st Philippine Republic, and the construction of a permanent Town Museum, etc. An active Municipal Culture and Arts Council and a dynamic Municipal Tourism Office were instrumental in making the annual fiesta tradition and other celebrations thrilling and memorable, with many first-time events inspired by new creative ideas.
He has also been treating the town's children to an annual animated Christmas display, the biggest in the country, and built them a mini-amusement park with rides at the plaza, among other projects.
Who would have thought that a non-tourist town could be so bold as to think of an attraction in the absence of a major draw? Mayor CTQ did in fact make it happen, with the construction of the St. Vincent Ferrer Prayer Park in 2019. It features a 50.23-meter-tall bamboo sculpture of the town's patron, St. Vincent Ferrer, which earned for Bayambang its second Guinness World Record title (tallest supported bamboo sculpture) after Mayor CTQ sponsored the world’s longest grill in 2014.
One pleasant surprise in his first term is Bayambang's winning of the Department of Tourism Pearl Award for the 2017 Best Tourism Week/Month (Municipality) celebration.
Being a sports fan himself, his support for school and LGU sports tournaments has been unstinting. He set up a basketball complex with a comfort room behind the public plaza. He routinely offers free live-viewings of boxing matches. He introduced heretofore unheard of sporting events in town, such as the Color Run and celebrity basketball matches.
To help maintain peace and order, he instituted 24/7 governance through the Bayambang Emergency Hotline, #4357, and Command Center, another first.
He increased the number of CCTV cameras from a few dozens to 146 cameras scattered in strategic corners of the town. This helped significantly lower crime incidents and vehicular accidents. He complemented this with the installation of streetlights and street signages.
For the PNP, he funded the fencing of the local headquarter, contributed hefty subsidies and other forms of support, and in no time, established ‘Pulis sa Barangay’ by building community police precincts in 8 districts.
His support for the country's ongoing War on Drugs is steadfast, but with strong emphasis on drug rehabilitation. It came as no surprise when Bayambang became a Gold Awardee in the 1st National Anti-Drug Abuse Council (ADAC) Performance Award, the only municipality in Pangasinan and one of only four awardees throughout Region I.
Revamping Agricultural Practices
Bayambang may well be the first-ever municipality in the country to introduce systematic farm mechanization program, thanks to Mayor Quiambao's desire to increase production through modernization, with the acquisition of tractors, combine harvesters, rice transplanters, and other machinery. This is complemented by the establishment of a Municipal Cooperative Development Office to take care of the town’s cooperatives, with 15 compliant co-ops so far whose combined capitalization is P7,313,519.61. Farm mechanization may be considered Mayor Quiambao's pet project, as he pulls out all stops to make sure all farm inputs (seeds, seedlings, fertilizers, pesticides, fingerlings, garden tools) are well provided for, so our food producers may cease being among the town's poorest.
He also built multi-purpose drying facilities to help prevent farmers from using the roads and roadsides.
Among the big-ticket projects in the pipeline are the Bayambang Pump Irrigation Project to be funded by the National Irrigation Authority and the Pantol-to-San Gabriel 2nd Farm-to-Market Road with Bridge Project to be funded by the World Bank under the Department of Agriculture's Philippine Rural Development Program, with 10% counterpart funding from the LGU.
To help sustain local food security, he encouraged all barangay households with empty backyards to grow their own vegetable gardens and for communities to have their own vegetable gardens as well with self-sustaining nurseries.
Reengineering the Local Economy and Ramping Up Infrastructure Development
He lost no time in fixing the town’s sorry state of infrastructure. Projects that will benefit the masses were given top priority. The Municipal Hall was renovated for P3.5M, including building of new rooms and upgrade of office furniture. The old Covered Court was renovated into the plush Balon Bayambang Events Center, which features full air-conditioning, world-class restrooms, shower rooms, LEDs, and Tarraflex rubberized flooring. The Legislative Building was also renovated for P5M. For the first time, Municipal Councilors had their own separate offices.
Some 15.426 km of new core local access roads were built in 77 barangays in 2016-2019. To decentralize the public market and encourage business in the outskirts of town, 8 satellite markets (talipapas) in different districts were finished in 2017.
New drainage systems were built in the Poblacion area. Deep wells were constructed in 8 barangays. Boundary signages were built in the four town boundaries. A bus stop for Manila-bound buses was renovated. Donated lots were secured for a planned new Bayambang Central Fire Station.
For the first time, the 20% development fund from the IRA was spent for its intended purpose: infrastructure projects for all 77 barangays, including farm-to-market roads, new barangay halls, basketball courts, and many more.
The Public Market, Municipal Slaughterhouse, and Motorpool were extensively renovated and expanded. With privately donated land, a temporary Bagsakan, Food Court, and Central Bus Terminal were built. The old Tricycle Terminal was upgraded to make it comfortable for the town’s 2,200 registered tricycle drivers.
The newly built Municipal Annex Bldg. and Municipal Warehouse decongested the old Municipal Hall, Another top priority is Bayambang's own bonery, in place of the currently overcrowded public cemetery. He demolished and relocated the commercial stalls in front of the Municipal Hall to a new location to provide more parking areas in the heart of town.
He updated the town's obsolete Comprehensive Land Use Plan with the help of the world-famous Palafox Associates.
Going Green and Ensuring a Resilient Community
To address the growing need for quick response during and in the aftermath of natural calamities, he dramatically increased the number of responder vehicles, with 9 rescue vehicles, 2 mini-dump trucks, a wheeler payloader, 2 rescue boats, 5 ambulances, a county bus, a flexi-truck, and a wing van among the latest acquisitions.
The Wawa Evacuation Center was upgraded into a pilot evacuation center, complete with modular tents, couples’ room, children’s play area, and breastfeeding section. A local weather station, radio communication tower, frequent earthquake drills, and intensive training of an expanded set of MDRRMO staff round out Mayor Quiambao’s disaster resilience strategy.
To help protect the environment, he bravely pushed for unpopular moves: enforcement of R.A. 9003 through garbage segregation and regulation of single-use plastics. He also rehabilitated the Materials Recovery Facility (MRF), arranged with a third-party for the proper disposal of plastic wastes, and devised a 10-Year Solid Waste Management Plan.
Moreover, he ordered all barangays to have their own MRFs. The Agno Riverbank was massively reforested with bamboo seedlings.
Targeted Response to COVID-19 Pandemic
When the pandemic struck, he and his wife were among the first ones to fall victim, but he was quick to enforce recommended measures from higher authorities and formulated creative solutions on his own. He converted two evacuation centers into DOH-approved quarantine and isolation facilities and built a new dedicated road leading to these. He set aside and realigned funds for relief operations and the purchase of PPEs and testing kits, facilitated multimillion-peso donations of equipment and supplies to hospitals in the province, and formulated livelihood recovery programs. He also dared to try face-to-face community-based learning system among grade-schoolers while observing the health protocols.
Bayambang 2028
In the pipeline are several big projects that are meant to really pump-prime the local economy by creating new jobs, if not entire careers, giving locals the option to chase their dreams without leaving home: mall, dome, hotel, theme park, and new town hall at the 67-hectare new economic zone being developed in Brgy. Bani, to give locals a taste of the comforts of city life.
Breaking ground lately is the Julius K. Quiambao Medical and Wellness Center, a modern public-private tertiary hospital to address the urgent need of residents for world-class medical care.
All these are sure to help bring Bayambang to heights it never imagined reaching before, because Mayor Quiambao – reminded of the noble-mindedness of his heroic forebears in town – dared to dream big and shake things up after the town’s long period of dormancy. As the Commanding General of the Revolution Against Poverty, he is set to make Bayambang banging once again.
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