Changing the world is not just the job of world leaders. It is the little things that we do individually every day that if done by many can bring about really big change.

A small thing is a small thing, but to be faithful to a small thing is a great thing.

We can change the world if we have good local leaders like the incumbent Pasay City Mayor Imelda “Emi” Calixto-Rubiano and her brother, Antonino “Tony” Calixto, who is currently the congressman of the lone legislative district of Pasay.

Both teach us to do the small good things in life first, and to follow them up faithfully for our own good and that of our families, our communities, our country and soon the entire world.

How in the world can Mayor Emi and Congressman Tony build a Manhattan of Pasay City version of New York City’s Manhattan within a decade and a half or two?

Our dream for a better world is not an impossibility, but it grows nearer to reality with the individual acts of kindness, courage, and initiatives like those of City Mayor Emi and District Representative Tony Calixto.

As soon as Tony Calixto assumed as then Mayor in 2010, he launched his main thrust of offering functional literacy to the residents of Pasay City, in line with his vision of an educated and informed citizenry that will lead in the social and moral transformation of the city.

He believed that being able to read and write would enable the people to know what is good and what is right, to make choices and develop their potential, make critical and wise decisions that would help them to live and function effectively in society within the context of their environment and that of the wider community.

He encouraged out of school youth to attend Alternative Learning System classes to enable them to either go back to regular schooling or to work through TESDA.

He subsidized a Remedial Reading Program. He pioneered the E-Learning Program to boost information technology and enhance skills in prescribed curricula for public elementary and high schools, hiring 25 computer teachers.

Between 2010 and 2016, Pasay City won two National Grand Awards and three consecutive First Places in DepEd’s Regional Literary Search for Outstanding Local Government Unit-Highly Urbanized Category.

Mayor Emi aspires to make her city the first “Eco-City” of the Philippines, as it continues to strive for excellence and growth while taking consideration of its environment. And to serve its constituents and stakeholders with enthusiasm and efficiency, with a firm commitment to adhering to the principles of good governance, and providing services and infrastructure essential to making the city progressive, healthy and peaceful, worthy of respect and emulation.

Pasay City went into reclamation, being one of the smallest cities in the National Capital Region. The reclamation project is near the SM Mall of Asia complex which can produce some 2,650,000 square meters of buildable and developable space which could be translated to about 1,850,000 square meters of building gross floor area.

On Thursday, I’ll show how ordinary people with extraordinary determination are able to change our world in Pasay City.