Following this call, the city borrowed money from a window of the World Bank through the Department of Finance to put up four lying-in clinics to serve clusters of barangay units (villages). This was inspired by our first lying-in clinic in Barangay Bangbangolan, which we put up with our own funds, Ipsnews reported.
When I assumed office, I learned of pregnant women giving birth on the road or dying because there were no trained health workers to assist them, not to mention the lack of prenatal care. With our improved health center and our five lying-in clinics, we assigned midwives to round-the-clock duty shifts. This was to achieve MDGs#4 and #5 – to reduce child mortality and improve maternal health.
We also encouraged breastfeeding and our barangay health workers followed up on the health of the mother and children, so much so that the infant mortality rate declined. We then achieved zero maternal mortality rate for three years, one on the fourth year, and again zero maternal mortality rate in the succeeding years. I asked the national government through my husband, Congressman Victor F. Ortega, to provide additional ambulances so that when there were cases that could not be addressed by the midwives, the patients could be brought to the hospital.
We became a Healthy City of the World Health Organization, leading the program to combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases. During my nine years as San Fernando mayor, I encountered only one case of HIV/AIDS. The problem that confronted us was dengue and we fought it. MDG#6.
We borrowed money to put up 34 classrooms because we could not wait for national government to bring down the classroom to students ratio. One classroom was provided with 20 computers per school site, so that grade school students were already introduced to the advantages of computers. This was in 2000, when high school students did not even have computers for their use, and we had them for grade school students. This answered MDG #2 – to achieve universal primary education. In San Fernando, we went the extra mile and improved basic education from kindergarten to Grade 6.
For MDG #3, to promote gender equality and empower women, our legal officer was assigned to act as the focal person for the program. We offered capacity building for our health workers and nutrition scholars and ran a Mothers Class in every barangay of 59. We campaigned against violence against women, taught victims to report to barangay officials and the police, set up a guidance counseling pool composed of pastors and ministers from different religious denominations. We encouraged our social welfare officers to come up with case studies and provide the victims with added support. This led us to open up a plantilla position for a psychologist.
At the start of my term, I promised to plant a million trees, and we were able to do this in nine years. To buy a million seedlings at P30 each would mean P30 million pesos. We had a 10-hectare botanical garden, and with additional nurseries we were able to achieve our goal. We initiated the organization of the Solid Waste Management Association of the Philippines (SWAPP); commissioned Joel Macanayato to compose the Basura jingle; set up an engineered landfill and waste water treatment facilities; phased out 1,412 two stroke engine tricycles; and set up a 30-hectare marine sanctuary. MDG#7.