Manila Mayor Honey Lacuna reported that her administration’s “Kalinga sa Maynila” program has directly served over 88,000 individuals and reached at least 600 barangays since its launch in 2022.

Lacuna expressed gratitude to Manila residents for their continued support of the program, which aims to bring city hall services directly to communities.

The “Kalinga” program conducts daily barangay visits, bringing heads of city offices, bureaus and departments to address residents’ queries, complaints, suggestions and requests. This eliminates the need for residents to travel to city hall, saving time and money.

It also includes on-site services such as job fairs, free pet vaccinations, ID processing for senior citizens, solo parents and persons with disabilities, medical assistance and birth and death certificate processing.

Lacuna announced plans to build a 10-story “Kalinga Center” in Paco, Manila, to serve as a one-stop-shop for basic city hall social services. Vice Mayor Yul Servo and Congressman Irwin Tieng joined Lacuna at the groundbreaking ceremony, pledging support for the project.

Lacuna said the center, funded entirely through the city budget, will consolidate all services offered in the “Kalinga sa Maynila” program.

She cited the need for a more spacious facility to accommodate residents, particularly the city’s approximately 200,000 senior citizens served by the Office of Senior Citizens’ Affairs.

The Kalinga Center has a total project cost of P973.3 million, with Phase 1 costing P400 million and Phase 2 costing P573.3 million. Phase 1 is expected to be completed by December 2025, and bidding for Phase 2 is scheduled for February 2025.

“You might ask, why only now?” Lacuna said. “We first consolidated the city’s funds. I want the expenses to come from our own efforts, not from loans. That’s important. All the city projects we do come from our own efforts. It turns out it’s possible. We just need to be thrifty and manage the city’s funds properly. That’s what you can always expect from us.”

The center will house the new Senior Citizens Affairs Office, a Youth Center, a Crisis Center for Women and Children, a job center, a public library, a barangay center, a convention center and a performance art theater.