Republic of the Philippines
BARANGAY MERVILLE
City of Parañaque
Metro Manila

STATE OF THE BARANGAY ADDRESS
(SOBA)
March 29, 2008




HON. GLORIA C. GUTIERREZ
Punong Barangay

I now call this Barangay Assembly to order.

First of all, allow me to greet and acknowledge our distinguished guests and fellow public servants for sharing with us their precious time to be with us for this very important undertaking of our barangay which is also being conducted nationwide, thru the “Synchronized Nationwide Barangay Assembly Day” for the First Semester of Calendar Year 2008. this is in compliance with the Presidential Proclamation No. 342 declaring the last Saturday of March and the third Saturday of October each year, as Barangay Assembly Day.

With our theme, “Tuloy-tuloy ang Trabaho…Tuloy-tuloy ang Serbisyo”. Your Sangguniang Barangay has successfully accomplished the priority projects, programs and activities it has lined-up from the second semester of calendar year 2007 up to the first semester of calendar year 2008. These have been accomplished through your untiring support and continued trust and confidence in our leadership by giving all the members of the Sangguniang Barangay a fresh mandate during the last October 29, 2007 Sangguniang Barangay and Kabataan Elections. We thank you for giving us your renewed support and confidence in serving our constituents for the next three more years.

You have been our constant partners in the continued progress and economic stability of our community. You have served as our inspiration in performing our sworn duties in serving the public and in achieving our noble goals and objectives for the benefit of all of our constituents.

We also thank our Parañaque City Government thru Honorable Florencio M. Bernabe, Jr., our city Mayor, for their continued support in all the undertakings of your Sangguniang Barangay. Without the valuable support of our beloved Mayor Jun Bernabe and the Sangguniang Panglunsod, we would not achieve these accomplishments we have endeavoured to our barangay constituents. Our beloved Mayor Jun Bernabe has been very supportive in various projects of our barangay particularly in our infrastructure projects, peace and order, health, education and other community programs.

Of course, I would also like to thank my fellow public servants in the Sangguniang Barangay for their efforts and perseverance in accomplishing the various tasks we have envisioned to our community and for the successful management of the various committees assigned to them. Allow me to introduce each one of them to all of you…

Kagawad Alice Benzon, she is the Chairman of the following committees:

• Finance and Appropriation - which is responsible in ensuring that appropriation on various barangay projects, programs and activities are well spent in accordance with the Sangguniang Barangay approved budget.

• Rules and Ethics - which is responsible in the conduct of our barangay officials during our meetings and various public undertakings

Kagawad Dr. Edgar Caballero, he is the Chairman of the following committees:

• Social Services and Urban Poor Affairs - which is responsible for extending various aids and assistance to our less destitute constituents. Being a doctor by profession, he was able to send several patients from our barangay to hospitals free of charge from various hospitalization expenses. The Committee on Urban Poor Affairs, thru the assistance of the “Gawad-Kalinga” of the Couples for Christ, was able to provide low-cost housing program among the poorest residents of our barangay.
• Children/Women & Family Welfare and Disabled Persons - which is responsible for assisting battered housewives, abused children and disabled persons This committee thru our Gender program was able to give assistance to those housewives who were physically abused by their husbands and children who were maltreated by their parents.

Kagawad Eddy Chan, Chairman of the following committees:

• Livelihood - which is responsible in the conduct of various free livelihood Training programs in the barangay thru the assistance of the Parañaque Livelihood Resource Management Office or PLRMO and TESDA. Several livelihood training programs have been conducted in the past by this committee such as cosmetology, meat processing, puto-making, hotel and restaurant services wherein most of its graduates are now gainfully employed in various hotels and restaurants in the metropolis. In addition to this, this committee is also responsible in extending employment referrals in various companies within our barangay as well as in our city. One of the propose projects of this committee is o establish our own “Livelihood Training Center” adjacent to our Barangay Hall.

• Cleanliness, Beautification and Sanitation or CBS - which is responsible in keeping our barangay clean and green. This committee is also responsible in supervising our barangay street sweepers to ensure that the cleanliness of all major thoroughfares of the barangay have been properly taken cared of.

Kagawad Dr. Dante Mendoza, Chairman of the following committees:

• Health - which is responsible in ensuring the health welfare of our constituents against any impending sickness or epidemics. Lately, they have conducted an “Anti-Dengue Campaign Programs’ in various areas of our barangay. Also, being a doctor by profession, he maintained his committee’s close coordination with our Barangay Health Center medical staff in extending various free medical and dental services to our constituents such as the recent free blood sugar determination and kidney care programs.

• Environment and Natural Resources - which is responsible in ensuring our clean and healthy environment. This committee is also responsible in monitoring air and other environmental pollutions that threatened the health of our constituents. Lately, this committee has conducted a cleaning of the creeks project along the Copenhagen creek inside Merville Park.

Kagawad Joel Dayrit, chairman of the following committees:

• Transportation - which is responsible for the monitoring and supervision of all public transport utilities in the barangay such as the operations of various tricycle operators and drivers associations or TODA within our barangay. This committee is also responsible in taking appropriate actions for various complaints against erring tricycle drivers, over-charging and others.

• Trade and Industry - which is responsible for monitoring and regulating all business establishments within the barangay to ensure that no illegal business activities exist within the barangay.

Kagawad Pablo Marquez, Chairman of the following committees:

• Education and Culture - which is responsible in extending free education program such as the Day Care Center programs within our barangay. This committee is presently exploring the possibilities of establishing an elementary school within our barangay thru the assistance of our Mayor Jun Bernabe.

• Senior Citizens Affairs - which is responsible in assisting the various needs of our senior citizens and the implementation of various national and local programs, projects and activities for the senior citizens.

Kagawad Jun Galang, Chairman of the following committees:

• Infrastructure - which is responsible in monitoring the construction of residential and/or business structures to ensure that they comply with the existing national Building Code, city and barangay ordinances regarding infrastructure projects/activities. This committee is also responsible in monitoring the proliferation of illegal settlers/dwellers thru proper control of all construction materials being brought inside the sitios and puroks within the barangay.

The Committee on Peace and Order is presently being handled by yours truly. I am happy to inform you all that our barangay has been cited by the Philippine National Police lately as one of the most peaceful barangays in our city.

SK Chairman Aljohn Sercado, our Sangguniang Kabataan Chairman, who is responsible in the development of our youth and of their physical well-being.

Mr. Nestor Mose, our Barangay Secretary, who is responsible for the safekeeping of our barangay records and for various documentation needs of our constituents. Concurrently, he also acts as the Action Officer of our Barangay Disaster Coordinating Council including our Fire and Emergency Rescue Services.

Our Fire-Fighting Team has been very effective in the past in various fire-fighting activities not only within our barangay but also in other adjacent barangays in the metropolis. Recently, our Fire-Fighting Team assisted in containing the fire that occurred in one of the garment factories along Barangay Sun Valley. They were also tapped in the longest fire incident that occurred lately in Baclaran commercial area.

Our Fire and Rescue Team was among the few teams that were accredited by the Manila International Airport Authority to be a part of the “Crash and Rescue Exercise (CREX)” conducted last year.

Our Emergency Rescue Ambulance was able to transport several patients coming from various villages and sitios to various hospitals in the metropolis free of charge.

Ms. Marezel Chavez, our Barangay Treasurer, whose task is to ensure that our barangay budget has been used and spent in accordance with the existing government accounting and auditing procedures.

These are the people behind our success in the barangay. Without them, we cannot achieve these significant accomplishments for our constituents.

We also thank the various homeowners associations for their continued support in various projects, programs and activities being undertaken by our barangay in their respective area, our purok chairmen in various sitios and puroks and other officers of our barangay such as the members of the Lupong Tagapamayapa.

We will continue to count on your support in the implementation of our Barangay Action Plan for this calendar year particularly on the maintenance of peace and order, health and safety, cleanliness and beautification, livelihood programs, the general welfare of the senior citizens, disabled persons and destitute families, the protection of women and children from any sort of abuses.

We are also happy and proud to say that our barangay is being considered as one of the model barangays in our city.

For my last, I am appealing to each and everyone to continue the camaraderie and harmonious working relationship we have established in our community in the past years, to continue the good team work, to continue serving our community as one family with one noble goal in mind…”tuloy-tuloy ang trabaho…tuloy-tuloy ang serbisyo”.

Marami pong salamat at mabuhay po kayong lahat!