Public service runs in blood

With her father’s deep love and dedication to public service as inspiration, Jeri Mae Calderon, the 34-year-old mayor of Angono, Rizal, answered the call to lead.

Calderon grew up seeing her parents, particularly his father, dedicating their lives to serving other people.

Calderon’s father, Gerry, was a veteran in local politics and had served as a mayor of the town for so many years and was elected the Vice Mayor to reflect the respect and loyalty of his townmates to his leadership style.

His constituents fondly call him “Mayor Vice.”

“So, I think before, of course, I was a child, I didn’t understand what they were doing. Why are there always so many people at our home,” the young Calderon told Daily Tribune in an interview.

“As I grew older, I just realized that I was destined to follow in the footsteps of my father. My father has been dreaming of having a big subdivision for the children here in Angono. That also inspired me, maybe that’s why I’m here in this position,” she added.

Before becoming mayor of Angono, Calderon also served as president of the Sangguniang Kabataan, and then municipal councilor.

“Because of this, I was able to continue the programs of Mayor Vice and expand it further,” Calderon said.

Calderon emphasized the importance of youth’s active participation as she urged the Sangguniang Kabataan officials to contribute to nation-building by implementing programs not just for the benefit of their fellow youth but the whole community as well.

“We want to bring their programs to the community,” she said.

She also reminded the young people that not everything on social media should be imitated.

Library in every barangay

Every barangay in Angono will have its library so that the children maintain interest in reading books, Calderon said.

“The books, newspapers, I told you, that’s what I’m still reading. I’m still reading books because I don’t want it to be lost as part of children’s study,” she added.

Despite the lack of funding, Calderon said she always prioritizes the education of children in Angono, exerting all the efforts to ensure that no children will be left behind, in terms of learning.

“We have educational assistance for those who can’t go to school and help them until they finish college,” she added.

Aside from education, Calderon also prioritizes the health of her constituents.

“We’ve learned a lot during the Covid-19 pandemic because we have expanded the services of our health centers,” she said.

Calderon added the local government is constructing a super health center in Mahabang Parang to cater healthcare services to residents living in the far-flung villages.

The medical facility, according to her, will have doctors specializing in specific diseases.

“It has a laboratory, x-ray, CT scan, dialysis center, and other healthcare services so that the residents near there will no longer come down to town to get medical treatment,” she said.

“There is still a study, but around the third quarter of this year, the construction of the super health center will be finished,” the young local chief executive added.

Considered the most ambitious project of the local government, Angono is now constructing an industrial hub or a business district similar to Bonifacio Global City in Taguig City.

Seated at the 30-hectare lot in Barangay Kalayaan at the end of Baytown Road, the project dubbed as “Life Industrial Park for Angono Dream, or LIPAD” was initiated by her father.

“It will happen in two to three years. What we picture is that it looks like the BGC — with various commercial establishments. We can also transfer there to the University of Rizal System (Angono Campus), and even our municipal government. It will also have a sports facility. It can be a one-stop shop government center,” she explained.

A village for artists

“Not only that, we can also put our artists’ village there, since we are the art capital of the country,” the mayor added.

Calderon also said that the national government has built a ferry station on Baytown Road at the boundary of Taytay and Angono. She also noted that the travel time will further improve with the completion of the Binangonan-Angono-Taytay Diversion Road.

“Once we have this (LIPAD), there will be more job opportunities for the people of Angono. They don’t need anymore to go to Manila to find a job,” she said.

“We are also talking with the investors so that in the future they can put up a business here,” the mayor added.

Since she took office in 2019, Calderon has issued an executive order requiring all the villages and subdivisions to assign people manning their streets to ensure safety in the area.

“We assign people from that street to man the area because they know their neighbors better,” she said.

“We also have a lot of force multipliers who are our partners in the implementation of public safety in our town,” she added.

Calderon also said that they involve local businesses, organizations, residents, and all stakeholders in their monthly meetings.

‘It is very important to hear their opinions and suggestions and also be included in the solution to those that need to be fixed in the town,” she said.

Since the pandemic, Calderon has learned to endorse local businesses online, particularly small-scale and medium enterprises.

“Of course, if that’s all you can do to help them get to know their business. That’s our way of helping them, in the months that we were together in approving the development planning being made by the local government,” she said.

She underscored the importance of conducting consultations with all stakeholders, saying that she “cannot see everything in every corner.”

“So, if the situation all comes from them, they have a suggestion, then we can speed up our actions,” she added.

One of the digital initiatives the local government has been implementing, most especially during the pandemic, is that all the businesses and transactions were done digitally.

“It’s like we’re in a digital world now. This is what we adjusted during the pandemic,” she said.

“We also have profiling to all residents of Angono, so that we can provide the assistance faster, and to determine if everyone is provided with the services,” the mayor added.

Despite efforts to instill discipline in her constituents in terms of waste management, Calderon, however, admitted that not all residents are complying with environmental ordinances being implemented by the local government.

“I can’t say that people are following 100 percent when it comes to waste management,” she said. “We teach them the proper way of waste segregation.”

“We see the improvement because, with every truck haul of garbage, you see the difference between then and now,” the mayor added.

The town’s “Busilak Na May Puso” is a group of volunteers who help the local government in the clean up of the river and other waterways to mitigate flooding.

“Maybe it’s because what we’re shouting here is zero waste. We also have a material recovery facility in every barangay. Thanks to the 10 barangays who implemented our zero basura program.”

Asked on what’s her long-term vision for the town, Calderon is dreaming of having a big subdivision where children are free to play on the streets and their parents have nothing to worry about, as far as their safety is concerned. A big subdivision with complete facilities when it comes to the needs of the children — at the schools, and in the field of sports and arts.

Calderon said LIPAD would be her biggest legacy once this comes to fruition.

“That is the legacy I would leave them.”

Angono, a lakeshore town known for its colorful Higantes Festival, is also the hometown of two national artists, Lucio San Pedro for music and Carlos “Botong” Francisco for visual arts.

“Almost every month, we have art galleries here in Angono. We also invite various government agencies and all stakeholders because they are the ones promoting art,” Calderon said.

“Our local artists were also being invited to other countries. They were given awards in different countries,” she added.

The iconic higantes are also being borrowed by other countries, Calderon said. In 2019, it was borrowed by South Korea and this month it went to Italy.

Angono celebrates the Higantes Festival each year on 22 and 23 November to honor San Clemente, the patron saint of fishermen. The festival features a parade of hundreds of higantes, or paper-mâché giants.