Various activities mark Mayor’s golden celebration

Mandaluyong City Mayor Benhur Abalos turns 50 on July 19 and this will be celebrated with a dozen days of activities in thanksgiving for this important day.

The celebration will be significant not just for the city and the constituency but more so for Mayor Abalos and this will be marked with groundbreaking ceremonies, inauguration of new facilities, jobs fair, medical and dental mission, bloodletting activity, anti-drug abuse concert & rap competition and various sports competition, among others.

Today, the 65th commencement exercises of the Mandaluyong Manpower Development Center (MMDC) held at the Mandaluyong Gym highlights the third day celebration. Some 920 students are expected to graduate from the 18 voc-tech courses being offered at MMDC, the only LGU-institution in Metro Manila that has the most number of TESDA accredited courses.

The following day, Friday (July 13th), unity and brotherhood amidst diversity will be evident as the “Blood Olympics,” a blood-letting activity takes place at the city government’s Executive Building, organized by the Mandaluyong-based Alpha Phi Omega, Alpha Kappa Rho, Tau Gamma Phi and the Scout Royale Brotherhood.

Meanwhile, a joint public service project with DZRH-News dubbed “Medical-Dental Mission-Makabagong Bayanihan” at the city gymnasium will start the celebration on Saturday (July 14), alongside the e-passport mobile service to some 500 city constituents to be held at the Executive Building. The dart tournament and the anti-drug abuse concert & rap competition will cap the whole day celebration. The radio station, DZRH, coincidentally is celebrating its 73rd anniversary this month.

On Monday (July 16), after the regular Morning Program, five city government offices and five barangays will be recipients to newly-blessed service vehicles and fire trucks, respectively, to be followed by the Diskwento Caravan to be conducted with the Department of Trade and Industry.

The following two days will be for ceremonial street lighting in two barangays and groundbreaking ceremonies of facilities, like the multi-purpose hall, day care center, covered court, school gymnasium and school building in five barangays in the city. The Mandaluyong City Sports Complex, comprising a track & field, football field, basketball court, boxing training gymnasium, indoor sports facilities, will soon rise in Barangay Addition Hills.

Supporting Mayor Abalos on his belief on the importance of a healthy citizenry thru healthy lifestyle and sports, several sports group partnered with the city government to conduct the golf cup, shootfest and table tennis open. Mandaluyong City is host to the first formal table table tennis school in the Philippines.

Another activity in the list is the whole day local and overseas jobs fair where 2,375 jobseekers participated, 770 applicants of whom were hired on the spot. Sixty eight companies, including 20 companies for overseas employment, offered services, skilled, managerial and clerical job positions.

Highlight activities of the actual birth day of Mayor Abalos are the groundbreaking ceremony for a medium rise condominium, the signing of memorandum of agreement with the National Housing Authority for the informal settlers along danger areas in the city, the release of loan under the Community Mortgage Program and signing of lot plan for the members of the Calbayog Homeowners Association, Phases 1 and 3, respectively.