Quezon City will dispatch an information technology team to Naga to support the smaller city’s push to move its local government services online, an arrangement reached Friday when Naga City Mayor Leni Robredo sat down with QC Mayor Joy Belmonte.
The two mayors used the meeting to compare notes on modernizing local government functions, with a particular focus on the online platform Quezon City uses to deliver services to its residents. Naga had already sent staff from several of its offices to observe those systems firsthand the previous month.
Digitalization was only part of the agenda. Robredo and Belmonte also went over how Quezon City handles housing, staff training, and other governance measures that Naga could adapt.
The Manila trip that brought Robredo to the capital had a separate purpose: talks with the Commission on Elections about the plebiscite that will decide whether Naga becomes a highly urbanized city.
Robredo also used the occasion to confront claims circulating online about how often she leaves Naga. Writing on social media, she said she rarely bothers engaging with such accounts but chose to this time.
“I don’t usually respond to trolls. It’s a waste of time and they don’t deserve any attention. I am going to make an exception this time. I don’t travel to Manila every week. I only go once a month, usually on a Thursday or Friday, so I can spend Saturday with my daughters, two of whom live here in Manila. I return to Naga on Sunday. This is easily verifiable because I post updates about my activities every day,” Robredo said.
According to the mayor, the monthly visits exist to secure backing from national agencies and private partners, and she framed the results as concrete. She also stated that she does not bill her travel to the city, covering even official trips herself.
“It has paid off. Even before completing my first year in office, Naga had already received more than P1 billion in assistance through our efforts. Because of this, we no longer have to resort to borrowing, as was previously done, just to finance infrastructure projects,” Robredo said.
