Milafor C. Gonzalez reveals what lies behind Makati’s transformation from bust to boom
The City of Makati today remains the undisputed financial capital of the Philippines. This relatively small-sized city is host to over 40 percent of the top 1,000 corporations, head offices of major banks and financial institutions, six five-star hotels, and majority of embassies, consulates and international organizations in the country. But this is not its sole claim to fame.

The many  innovations  in  local governance, particularly  in the areas of health,  education,  social welfare,  and  infrastructure development,  have  propelled Makati  to  its  enviable  stature as a trendsetter in public service among local and foreign localities.  Backed by a stable revenue base – sustained through continuing  reforms  towards  a more  efcient  and  responsive bureaucracy –  the  city  government has been  able  to provide  its  residents with a quality of life previously enjoyed only by Makati’s privileged few.

Within a span of 22 years under the leadership of Mayor Jejomar C. Binay,
Makati has  succeeded  in  implementing  groundbreaking  programs widely
acknowledged  as  exemplars of good governance.  Interestingly,  the  frame-
work for the city’s long-term action plan has been coined “Makati BEST,” in
which programs are categorized under four major aspects of development,
namely, Best Place to Live in, Educational Excellence, Superior Place to do
Business, and Top Local Civil Servants.

Best Place To Live In

Besides its modern public infrastructures befitting its cosmopolitan im­age, Makati boasts outstanding programs that promote a constant state of wellness among residents. Today, it ranks among the healthiest cities in the Philippines with its holistic health care system that provides quality health services even to low income and marginalized sectors of the community.

The city’s 27 well-equipped public health centers in the barangays (villages), manned by competent doctors and health workers, adequately cover the pri­mary medical needs of its constituents. These community-based health care providers have been so effective in implementing the city’s comprehensive immunization program that for about a decade now, Makati has had zero cases of polio, diphtheria, pertussis and neonatal tetanus, and a measles-free status throughout 2007 up to the present.

Considered as the centerpiece of its health care system is the Makati Health Plus Program, better known as the Yellow Card. The Yellow Card was se­lected as a “best practice” by the Dubai International Award for Best Prac­tices in 2002 for its “outstanding contribution towards improving the living environment.”

It covers bona fide residents of Makati, including senior citizens, domestic helpers of legitimate residents, city government workers, and employees of selected Makati-based national government agencies, such as public school teachers, police and fire personnel.

The program entitles beneficiaries to free outpatient consultations and subsi­dized hospitalization in the fields of surgery, pediatrics, obstetrics, medicine, ENT, ophthalmology, dermatology and orthopedics at the city-run Ospital ng Makati (OsMak) in Barangay Pembo. Emergency cases are handled by the OsMak and its free-standing emergency care unit, the Acute Care Center in Barangay Bel-Air in the first district.

Complementing the Yellow Card is the Makati HeartCard program, which is focused on cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention and control among low-income and indigent residents. It was launched in 2003 to address the rising number of CVD-related deaths in the city and to promote the con­cept of health insurance funding by a local government unit (LGU) for its citizens.
To date, over 7,000 members are benefiting from its health package that includes free consultation, nutritional assessment, dietary prescription, BP monitoring, and free laboratory services (e.g., fasting blood sugar, choles­terol test, lipid profile test, ECG, and bone scan). Also included are lifestyle modification activities, such as a regular exercise program, cooking demos on health foods, stress management, and alcohol and smoking cessation counseling.

A drug subsidy program also grants members ten days’ supply of available
medicines at a 50 per cent discount.

In 2007, the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (Philhealth) officially acknowledged that Makati has attained universal health insurance coverage for its constituents – another first for an LGU. Through the subsidized Phil-health enrolment program of the city government, around 80,000 indigent families in Makati now enjoy access to subsidized medical services in any Philhealth-accredited facility in the country.

Of all the programs under the “B” category, the Senior Citizens Program of A drug subsidy program also grants members ten days’ supply of available Makati is by far the most popular and most talked about, especially in the medicines at a 50 per cent discount.  provinces. Mayor Binay fondly refers to the city’s elderly as “senioritos” and “senioritas” because of the pampering accorded them by the city. Unlimited free entrance to Makati’s upscale cinemas, for instance, has made them the envy of their contempo­raries in other parts of the country. They also get to visit popular tourist sites in various parts of the archipelago, with all expenses paid for by the city government.

The program also includes ‘Harana sa Matatanda’ (Serenade to the Elderly), where senior citizens receive specially-made cakes on their birthday and, for couples, their golden wed­ding anniversary, along with a special greeting card from the mayor. These are delivered right to their doorstep by a group of city social workers who also sing to them as they blow the candles.

Under the BLU Card program, senior citizens during their lifetime receive a yearly cash gift of two thousand pesos, with one thousand given in June and another one thousand in December. The cash gift is meant to help defray some of their daily expenses, especially on food and medicine. Upon their demise, their beneficiaries receive a three thousand-peso burial assistance from the city government.

Recently, they were granted exemption from the city’s color-coding scheme to allow for better mobility in case they need urgent medical attention. To address the needs of those with life threatening and chronic ailments, the city government established the Makati Elderly Health Care Office, which provides specialized geriatric health care services that cover the social, psychological and biological aspects of aging.

The continuing success of the program has inspired a grow­ing number of LGUs in the country to make it their bench­mark in setting up their own programs for their constitu­ents.

When asked about his extraordinary concern for the elderly, Mayor Binay simply states: “All these we have done as our humble way of demonstrating what we Filipinos call “Pag­tanaw ng utang na loob” (recognizing a debt of gratitude). After all, they had contributed much to the development of Makati and its people during their more productive years.”

Makati senior citizens, however, do not have a monopoly of special privileges. Children, whom the mayor fondly re­gards as “the richest human resources of Makati,” are also well taken care of – even before they are born. Quality pre­natal health care provided to mothers, followed by a com­prehensive immunization program and integrated nutrition program, ensure their normal growth and development.

The city leadership’s efforts towards a healthy citizenry have not gone unnoticed. The World Health Organization has recognized Makati for its successful promotion of “Commu­nity-based Breastfeeding Advocacy” in pilot barangays, and even gave a substantial grant for the program’s expansion to the rest of the city.

On the local front, the Department of Health has also recog­nized Makati for its strong advocacy for breastfeeding and newborn screening, citing Mayor Binay for being the most active and supportive local chief executive.

Not surprisingly, its many programs for the welfare of chil­dren have clinched for Makati – for three straight years now – the coveted title of “Most Child-Friendly City” in the Na­tional Capital Region.

Educational Excellence

Driven by his vision of developing great leaders and globally competitive citizens, Mayor Binay has put a premium on raising the quality of public education in Makati to world-class standards. It is common knowledge in the Philippines that the city provides free school supplies, bags, uniforms and workbooks to all its public school students in the elementary and high school levels.

Its modern public school buildings are on par with private schools, even surpassing some. Makati has the biggest computer-to-student ratio among the nation’s public schools, and is the first school division to integrate computer subjects and computer-aided instruction in its curriculum. All schools both in elementary and high school levels have at least one com­puter laboratory – each consisting of at least 30 computers that are local area-networked with unlimited internet access.

The city government’s heavy investments in modernizing the city’s public education system, which take up over a billion pesos of our annual budget, have certainly paid off. Its students continue to shine in national and international academic competitions, and some have even won scholarships abroad. Some of them have been making waves in the field of Robotics not just locally, but worldwide.

At the tertiary level, the city-owned and managed University of Makati (UMak) was the first to implement the “Dualized University Education System,” or DUES, which combines classroom instruction and on-the-job training through partnerships with leading industry practitioners. The adoption of DUES at UMak is anchored on the belief that gainful em­ployment, not just a diploma, is the real objective of college education.

To ensure that Makati’s citizens would be the prime beneficiaries of the current boom in the city’s BPO (business process outsourcing) industry, UMak established the Business Proc­ess Outsourcing Training Center, or BPOTC, which provides students with the appropriate skills that meet the standards of the BPO sector, especially in Makati. The BPOTC features a simulated call center setting and is considered the best equipped call center training center, even better than some call center companies, with a system that can handle and route as many as 100 calls at any one time.

“We don’t just train you, we get you employed.” This is the BPOTC mission. And true to form, umak’s bpotc is now a certified training center of Peoplesupport, a major industry player. At present, the center’s employability rate is 100 per cent, with graduates finding jobs in partner BPOs like People Support, Q-Interaction, Ambergris Solutions, and Accenture.

Superior Place to do Business

As the country’s financial center, Makati needs to continuously shore up its competitive edge through initiatives that are not just business-friendly, but business-stimulating as well. “We must not rest on our laurels” has become an oft-repeated mantra among Makati officials as their leader keeps on push­ing them to explore new ways to improve the delivery of services.

Consistent with the Mayor’s policy of participatory governance, the city ini­tiated the creation of the Makati Business Development Council (MBDC) in 2003. Chaired by Mayor Binay, the MBDC is composed of representa­tives from the business sector of Makati, the foreign chambers of commerce, business organizations, socio-civic organizations, and the city government. Today, the Council serves as an advisory group to the city government on matters affecting business and investments in Makati, and as a shared instru­ment for growth and development.

Going for the grassroots, the city government in 2005 established the Makati Barangay Business Council (MBBC), composed of different business asso­ciations in the barangays. Chaired by Makati Vice Mayor Ernesto Mercado, the MBBC is now actively working with the city government to promote entrepreneurship and disseminate information on policies regarding the business of micro-small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Makati. It also facilitates financial assistance to aspiring entrepreneurs, generates em­ployment in the barangays, and is represented in the MBDC as well.

By crafting and implementing the Barangay Real Property Tax Payment Sys­tem, Makati became the first LGU to harness technology in making tax pay­ment less burdensome to taxpayers. The system is a computerized method of paying real property taxes (RPT) aimed at ensuring efficient and real-time payment updates in every transaction. Through the Makati-wide Area Net­work, computers in 14 barangays are linked to the City Hall’s Treasury De­partment. Taxpayers need only to present their previous receipt or provide relevant information and an electronic receipt is automatically given to them in two to four minutes, quite an improvement from the previous transaction time of 30-60 minutes.

As a result, the RPT share of these barangays increased, along with the city’s total RPT collection. From P1.95 billion in 2001, it increased to P2.56 bil­lion on the first year of the system’s implementation. In 2007, total RPT collection amounted to P3.81 billion, an increase of 93.4 percent or P1.84 billion over the 2001 collection.

Makati has also heavily invested in ensuring peace and order. The city gov­ernment provides national peacekeeping agencies substantial logistical sup­port, out of its own budget, in the form of new patrol vehicles, firearms and ammunitions, gasoline and communication equipment, and modern bomb suits. It has even built a modern police headquarters at the Makati Central Business District to keep investors, visitors and workers secure.

Reinforcing security measures on the ground is the Makati Command, Communications and Control Center (C3), which enables the city govern­ment to literally keep an eye on what goes on in the city, 24/7. Housed at the roof deck of the 22-storey Makati City Hall and equipped with state-of-the­art communication and surveillance equipment, C3 is capable of answering emergency calls and dispatching response teams, such as police, fire, emer­gency health and rescue services, and other public safety agencies.

All response vehicles are equipped with Global Positioning System (GPS) that allows C3 to monitor their location at any given time. Once a call is received, the Command Center dispatches the response unit closest to the scene. Its personnel are also trained to provide first aid help over the phone. With closed-circuit TV cameras (CCTVs) that can swing at 340-degree an­gles installed in 11 major intersections, C3 personnel can monitor traffic and flood situation city-wide as well as suspicious activities.

To promote public awareness of C3, particularly its hotline “168” and other landlines, the city government has sustained its information drive through posters, pocket cards, print ads, electronic billboards, and Radyo Makati, its weekly Sunday radio program.

Top Local Civil Servants

It was no mean feat to steer Makati towards its phenomenal transformation from its plight over two decades ago, and it could not have been done by one person alone. Mayor Binay’s unrelenting passion for excellence appears to have rubbed off on other city officials and workers, as indicated by the resound­ing success of programs now being touted as ‘best practices’ not only in the country, but overseas.

Pioneering initiatives have taken root and flourished largely through the efforts of a highly competent and dedicated city government workforce. One of these is Radyo Makati, a weekly radio program aired live every Sunday from 7:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. on an AM station with nationwide reach. It is hosted by Mayor Binay and Vice Mayor Mercado together with other key city officials.

Launched in 2002, Radyo Makati has become an effective com­munication tool that has kept city residents, investors and the general public well-informed of the latest developments in Makati, while enabling them to freely express their views and concerns on local and national issues.

In 2004, the program was conferred the Jaime L. Cardinal Sin Serviam Award by the Catholic Mass Media Awards (CMMA) for its “outstanding community service in the promotion of Christian values to the people of Makati.”

Far from being parochial in its concerns, the Makati leader­ship has been going out of its way to share its experiences and insights with other local governments throughout the country. Since 1989, it has taken aggressive steps to expand the tradi­tional concept of sisterhood agreements through more mean­ingful interaction, which will bring to the fore what Mayor Binay believes to be a “largely untapped potential of LGUs as significant drivers of national progress.”

Upon the formal signing of a sisterhood agreement, Makati and its sister-LGU undertake projects in various areas of develop­ment, such as education, social welfare and economic manage­ment. The city government has also donated books and other school supplies to selected local sister-cities, and has even granted scholarship to their students so they could study at the University of Makati, a local government-funded institution.

Makati’s network of sister LGUs extends far and wide – to local­ities in various parts of the Philippine archipelago and nations across the seas. To date, Makati has sisterhood and friendship agreements with over 100 local and foreign cities and munici­palities.

Mayor Binay believes that by serving as an example to other LGUs and actively seeking fresh ideas from them as well, the City of Makati can “persuade others who are in public service, in whatever capacity, to shun mediocrity and actively explore new and better ways of serving the people.”

Makati’s success story inevitably calls to mind the words of John Quincy Adams, the sixth president of the United States:

“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.”

More than twenty years of public service have shown that May­or Jejomar C. Binay is a man of vision who has the political will and the leadership to turn his vision into reality.