Beng is ‘National Resilience Council’ Champion

THE NATIONAL Resilience Council has recognized Zamboanga City’s popular mayor Beng Climaco as one of the “Resilience Champions” during a virtual conference held recently.

 

Mayor Beng Climaco is one of the "National Resilience Council" Champions and cited her dynamic leadership and unwavering dedication to achieving resiliency and sustainability in Zamboanga City.

In giving the award, the National Resilience Council cited Climaco’s “dynamic leadership and unwavering dedication to achieving resiliency and sustainability in Zamboanga City.” 

During the conference, Climaco bannered the Zamboanga’s resiliency with its work on human security and public health, women and inclusion of the indigenous peoples in various agenda, public-private partnership, and pandemic containment, as well as her personal narrative of her experiences and insights as local chief executive. 

“Throughout our resilience journey, I have learned to trust the process. The process is arduous, and requires judicious planning and preparation of teams, plans, and support systems but the hard work is all worth it,” she said. 

The National Resilience Council is a science and technology-based public-private partnership that supports government, communities, the academe, and the private sector in advancing  the intersecting goals of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, Sustainable Development Goals, the Paris Climate Agreement, the New Urban Agenda, and the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction’s Making Cities Resilient Campaign.  

Driven by the convergence of the visions of Ambassador Roberto Romulo and Hans Sy, of SM Prime Holdings, Inc., the National Resilience Council is co-chaired by Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and Sy.  

The National Resilience Council has four vice-chairpersons representing government - Undersecretary Marivel Sacendoncillo; the private sector - Edgar Chua; academia - Fr. Jose Ramon Villarin; and civil society - Professor Ernesto Garilao. Maria Antonia Yulo Loyzaga is the National Resilience Council President with Marilou  Erni as Executive Director and Marilou Suplido, the Senior Program Manager. 

Climaco, now on her third and final term, thanked the National Resilience Council for recognizing her efforts and hard work as mayor of Zamboanga and vows to continue working if elected congresswoman in District 1 where she is the top candidate and the only politician with the most experience. Before being elected mayor in the May 2013 election where she received the highest mandate in the city’s history, Climaco was a two-term city councilor from 1998 to 2004 after which she was immediately elected as vice mayor.  

From being a local legislator and head of the City Council, she became Zamboanga’s representative in Congress for two consecutive terms (2007 to 2013). During her second term in the House of Representatives, she became one of the six Deputy Speakers, overcoming the barriers of age and gender - she was both the youngest and the only woman who held that post during the 15th Congress. 

Climaco was chosen as among “Top 5 World’s Best Mayors” by the prestigious City Mayors Foundation. She was was named along with Valeria Mancinelli, Mayor of Ancona, Italy who is the Winner of the 2018 World Mayor Prize; Ros Jones, Mayor of Doncaster, UK; Nathalie Appéré, Mayor of Rennes, France; and Charlotte Britz, Mayor of Saarbrücken, Germany.  

In its award to Climaco, the City Mayors Foundation heavily cited the local mayor for her commitment to offer Zamboanga harmony, security and prosperity. “During her first term in office, Climaco made it her priority for the victims of the attack to receive justice and compensation. She has also been determined to heal any divisions between the city’s Christian and Muslim communities. The Inter-Religious Dialogue Council, she convened, has been successful in promoting peace. In a city, which was often perceived as violent, there have been no bombings or kidnapping incidents since 2016. In 2017, Mayor Climaco’s administration won the award for the most improved local government,” said the philanthropic international research think tank dedicated to local government.  

The City Mayors Foundation said the award is given every two years to mayors who have made outstanding contributions to their communities and have developed a vision for urban living and working that is relevant to towns and cities across the world. 

Climaco was also recognized as the “Most Outstanding Mayor” by the Federation of Local Councils of Women in the Philippines in 2017. These awards and rankings were based on indicators and measurements such as economic dynamism, government efficiency, infrastructure and resiliency. These recognition are feats never before achieved by any administration. (Zamboanga Post)