Cavite’s youngest city is hitting the ground running. The City of Carmona, with a population of over 108,000, is well into its second year of its cityhood armed with internationally recognized programs for its citizens and a sincere desire to serve. With its venture toward a Carmona International City through the development of a mixed-use township in the pipeline, Carmona is, indeed, shaping up to be the rising star of the south.
Gradually, the city is applying its master plan of sustainability, starting with smart transportation and infrastructure. Now is the perfect time for the city to open its doors to the development of the Carmona International City, a joint venture between the City Government, SM Prime Holdings, Inc., SM Development Corporation, and SM Supermalls, cultivating a conductive business environment for local and international ventures deeming it as the “Future Investment Hub of Cavite”.
A well-supported citizenry
Even before it became a city, the Local Government of Carmona had been spearheading programs that directly benefit the people. The main beneficiaries of these programs are the youth, persons with disabilities (PWDs), women, the elderly, and other minority groups.
Over 24,200 pupils and students from Daycare to Senior High School received free school bags and supplies from the Local Government through its Gamit Eskwela Caravan Program. This is one of the city’s steps to make sure that everyone has access to quality education.
In addition, 2,164 beneficiaries (Senior High School and College) of the Bawat Tahanan, May Scholar (BTS) Program received educational assistance for their studies. This, together with other scholarship programs of the city such as Iskolar ng Bayan ng Carmona, Cavite (IBCC), Expanded College Assistance Program (ECAP), and LGU-Carmona Hansan and Katsumpa Scholarship, provide opportunities for deserving students to continue their education with financial help. With plans for the Carmona Science High School with a 21st-century classroom set-up being developed in the future, the education sector in Carmona is surely set to get more boost and local government support.
Learners with special needs are not left behind, either. The Local Government Unit’s (LGU’s) award-winning Comprehensive Approach Responsive Education and Rehabilitation (CARER) Program of the Persons with Disability Affairs Office makes sure that, among other benefits, children under the program will attain a holistic form of education for their welfare. Through the program, free transportation to and from school is provided to all learners. Parents of deaf students are also required to take sign language lessons. To ease their transition into the real world, the first PWD Café in Cavite was established named DEAFinitely Happy Store manned by PWD learners and graduates as an additional opportunity to earn their keep.
PWDs in Carmona also enjoy a special privilege when it comes to the workforce as the city requires all its locators or businesses to have at least one (1) percent of their employees to come from the PWD sector. An accessibility seal is given to the companies who will comply with the employment of PWDs and with other requirements for PWDs under the Building Code.
The City of Carmona, through its City Information Technology Unit, also prides itself on its Tech4Ed Program giving fresh graduates, students, and out-of-school youth formal training on how to use the Internet to find work. Senior high school students, through the Public Employment Service Office, also receive career orientation to better help them determine the direction of their professional future. Also, women are also given equal opportunities to earn and make a living through the city’s ecology center manned by the Samahan ng Nagkakaisang Kababaihan ng Carmona Inc. This allows women to earn women by collecting and repurposing recyclable materials,.
To make sure that the programs of the LGU are in line with the needs of its people, the City of Carmona utilizes the Community-Based Monitoring System (CBMS). This helps the LGU to produce relevant and timely information for its investment prioritization and program implementation and has since served as a fundamental basis for effective planning, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of specific programs for vulnerable households and populations.
PH and the world taking notice
Carmona’s reputation of being child- and PWD-friendly has gone beyond the city limits.
On March 14, 2024, the City of Carmona’s CARER program for PWDs was recognized for its social impact at the 2024 Global Inclusion Awards in Paris, France. City Mayor Dahlia A. Loyola flew to France to receive the award at a ceremony organized by UNESCO (United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization) and IFIP (International Forums of Inclusion Practitioners). In 2023, the same program was recognized as a Silver Awardee in the 1st Innovation for Disability-Inclusive Education Competition in Malaysia cementing its international status.
Carmona is also a consistent awardee of the Seal of Good Local Governance and the Seal of Child-Friendly Local Governance proving its legacy in terms of good governance and youth empowerment.
All these accomplishments and programs work together to push for Carmona to become a competitive and progressive Carmona International City. With Congressman Roy Loyola’s vision of digitizing the entire Carmona, this is not a farfetched goal.
