Despite the looming campaign period for the May 2013 elections , it was business as usual for the League of Cities of the Philippines (LCP) when it held its 59th General Assembly gathering 66 mayors and representatives last March 08, 2013 at the Manila Hotel.
Highlighting the event was Commission on Elections (COMELEC) chairman Sixto Brillantes who generously answered different queries from the city mayors mostly on election rules. Chairman Brillantes urged the local chief executives to abide by the election rules. The national and local elections is set on May 13, 2013 where a total of 18,041 local posts are at stake.
Several partnerships were also signed. LCP entered a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Plan International to help in the Plan’s Count Every Child Campaign which aims towards increasing the number of registered children. LCP also inked deal with the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP) to implement the Project IMPACT which aims to decrease the number of tuberculosis cases in cities. LCP also signed an MOU with the Development Academy of the Philippines (DAP), completing the roster of three academic institutions - the two are University of the Philippines – Planning and Development Research Foundation (UP PLANADES) and De La Salle College- Benilde – LCP has partnered in developing new training programs for the newly-elected city mayors by July 2013.
The event capped off with the recognition rites of ‘Graduating’ city mayors. It refers to the mayors who have completed their three terms (or nine years) of public service. Twenty eight (28) city mayors completed their three terms.
Bacolod City Mayor Bing Leonardia, on behalf of the graduating mayors, thanked the LCP for the fruitful years of camaraderie and partnership, ‘In a few months, a new group of city mayors will be steering LCP towards greater heights. I am confident of the progress we have made and I trust that the new leaders of LCP will further cultivate the seeds of reform that we both inherited and initiated.