Flag Raising Ceremony Highlights | October 14, 2024

October 14, 2024

Flag Raising Ceremony Highlights | October 14, 2024

Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto addressed the following points during the weekly flag-raising ceremony:

00:01-00:47: Mayor Vico recognized Lone District Representative Roman Romulo and announced that this would be the last flag-raising ceremony at the current City Hall site before moving its conduct to the Temporary City Hall next week. He also expressed his excitement about the transfer and plans for the new facility.

00:48-01:25: He also greeted Vice Mayor Dodot Jaworski on his birthday and expressed his gratitude for having a hardworking city official committed to public service.

01:26-01:33:  Acknowledgment of City officials, departments, personnel, and representatives from national government agencies who attended the flag-raising ceremony.

01:33-08:24: Reminders for City Hall Employees

- Mayor Vico reminded City Hall employees of the prohibition on electioneering and engaging with partisan political activities, now that the filing of certificates of candidacy for the 2025 National and Local Elections has concluded.

- He emphasized his advocacy to steer the city government's bureaucracy and civil service away from politics, aligning it with the city’s mission for insulating civil servants from politics through various human resource reforms: capacity-building and development of its human resource. He also noted that the Mass Regularization Program has helped secure the tenure of many City Hall employees.

- Acknowledging that some City Hall employees may be accustomed to politicization from previous elections, he urged them to make the most of the opportunity to separate politics from public service.

- Mayor Vico reiterated the city’s program on improving public service through strengthening the bureaucracy, while insulating work from politics, which will benefit the city government.

- He reminded everyone to adhere to the code of ethics, rules and regulations of the Civil Service Commission, and relevant laws.

- He then shared that while he welcomes criticisms as a public official, he will not tolerate the intrusion of politics into personal matters, especially concerning his family.

- Mayor Vico proudly highlighted the absence of “epal” tarpaulins and election paraphernalia across the city, attributing this achievement to the “Anti-Epal Ordinance of 2022.” This ordinance prohibits politicians from placing their names or faces on government projects and services. He instructed the Clean and Green (under the City Environment and Natural Resources Office), Peace and Order Department, and the local Philippine National Police to comply with the ordinance, especially during the election campaign period, especially on the prohibition of election paraphernalia in public places.

08:25-09:27: Special Program for the Employment of Students (SPES) and Government Internship Program (GIP) 

- Mayor Vico congratulated the 153 beneficiaries of the Special Program for Employment of Students Out-of-School Youth (SPES-OSY), explaining that 60% of their allowance will come from the local government and 40% from the Department of Labor and Employment.

- He also welcomed the new interns under the Government Internship Program (GIP) and wished the SPES-OSY and GIP  interns a fulfilling and productive experience in the City Government of Pasig.

He concluded his speech by once again extending his thanks and greetings to everyone who attended the ceremony.

To watch the full video of the flag-raising ceremony, click this link: https://bit.ly/2024_FlagCeremonyOct14