Mayor Abalos to attend World Urban Forum of the UN in Colombia
Jenny Herrera
April 6, 2014
MANDALUYONG CITY – Mayor BenhurAbalos will again be carrying the city’s banner in two international gatherings of respected personalities from sectors such as the academe, corporate and government.
Abalos is the only Asian and Filipino to be invited to be a panelist in the United Nations (UN)-Habitat convened 7th session of the World Urban Forum entitled “Dialogue on Innovative Financing Instruments for Local Authorities” to be held on April 10.
The panel will discuss and debate innovations that would help Local Government Units overcome their revenue limitations while at the same time serving its constituents more effectively.
Mandaluyong City under Mayor Abalos, has been cited by the Bureau of Local Government Finance-Department of Finance as second in local resources revenue generation among the cities of the National Capital Region (NCR) for two straight years in spite of having the smallest land area in the NCR.
This Dialogue, it was learned, will seek to offer operational and policy grounding for the broader WUF goals of inclusive development and reduction of inequality.
The mayor will also be discussing and debating with other local officials from various regions of the world on topics, such as Local Financing Mechanisms as Key Components of Urban Strategies and the Global Experience, that show there is a strong correlation between levels of local revenue and the achievement of equity, welfare, and well-being of urban populations.
Likewise, the mayor will debate and join a dialogue in another forum to be held on April 8 with the theme: “How to Enable Urban Innovation-Fast at Broad Scale and Equitable” a networking event organized by theGerman Society for International Cooperation (GIZ) of the German Government.
He will share the Mandaluyong City experience in revenue generation in relation to the volatility of global economic conditions and national budgetary situations and debate with other local officials of various nations regarding the effectiveness of such programs based on their respective experiences.
The innovations that Mayor Abalos has undertaken have enabled Mandaluyong City to achieve more in revenues generation still without the need to resort to exorbitant tax increases and still ensuring services that are continuously well delivered to its constituents.
