ANGELES CITY, Pampanga, Philippines — The Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP or City Council) of Angeles has recently passed five local legislations that will boost the city administration’s campaign for good governance and people empowerment.

These are ordinances on market, gender and development (GAD), environmental, revenue and investment.

Vice Mayor Vicky Vega-Cabigting, SP presiding officer said the prompt passage of the five legislative codes before the end of 2011 will ultimately allow the administration, the council and the city itself to look forward to a better 2012.

“We have approved these codes which are deemed necessary in improving the affairs and administration of the city,” Vega-Cabigting said.

She added that the provisions on the ordinances were updated in order to keep up with the current needs and situation of the city.

The city council has successfully passed the Market Code (Ordinance No. 301) that will properly reorganize and provide rigid rules in the operation and management of public markets.

The Investment Code (Ordinance No. 302) is a measure to entice more investors to do business in the city. It defined the priority investment areas, as well as the incentives, benefits, and privileges that will be granted to investors.

The GAD Code (Ordinance No. 304) is an improvement to the current GAD ordinance that empowers and emphasizes the rights of women & children.

The Revenue Code (Tax Ordinance No. 61) will help the city in generating more income through efficient and aggressive revenue collection without imposing any increase in local taxes while the Environmental Code (Ordinance No. 303) provides short-term and long-term answers to climate change and other environmentally-affecting man made disastrous practices such as improper waste disposal.

When asked on how they passed the said codes in such a short amount of time, Vega-Cabigting stressed that there was no “rail-roading” done, which means, “they did not rush into things.”

“We really planned to pass these codes by the end of the year, and I am truly thankful that the council did it. We knew what we were doing and where we are going. If the council are not working together, hindi namin magagawa ‘yon,” Vega-Cabigting explained.

The vice mayor also gave credit to Mayor Edgardo Pamintuan for providing his full support to the City Council.

“The willingness of both the executive and legislative branches to work together made the passing of the codes possible and the assistance of the Executive-Legislative Agenda (ELA) and the Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) truly provided a big hand in the realization of these goals,” she added.

Recently, the city grabbed headlines when the city government declared support for the so-called community of Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals and Transgenders (LGBT) by involving them in local government affairs.

Pamintuan signed Executive Order No. 37 for the creation of the LGBT Committee, giving their community a chance to show their capabilities and help efforts against discrimination.

The committee will protect the human, civil, and political rights of the gay sector of this city, and will ensure the sector’s role and potentials in the city’s development and progress.