February 1st, 2023
I congratulate my colleague Rep. Rex Gatchalian for his designation as Secretary of the Department of Social Welfare and Development. He is obsessed with results. He will get things done.
When I was Governor of Albay, Valenzuela was one of our toughest competitors for awards for good governance. Secretary Gatchalian has been one of the country’s most innovative mayors. Valenzuela has pioneered several best practices that many of us in government look up to as examples to emulate in our own communities. These include Bahay Kalinga for elderly citizens and the Valenzuela Child Protection Center.
Secretary Gatchalian’s governance of Valenzuela during the COVID-19 pandemic – through award-winning initiatives in contact tracing and the use of big data and statistics – shows a commitment to evidenced-based and data-driven governance.
I look forward to working with Secretary Gatchalian and I offer him my utmost support.