Championing Positive Change

If every Kidapawan family can provide food on their table, can feed their children and send them to school, then we’ll be able to give them a better chance at life, and a better chance to achieve their dreams in life.” This, in a nutshell, is how Kidapawan City Mayor Jose Paolo M. Evangelista sees the task of laying the foundation for a sustainable city where the people could lead meaningful and fulfilling lives.

The young mayor’s formula is quite simple: “If you provide an environment good enough for them to thrive, then I think that everyone’s future will be more fulfilling and more meaningful.”

EXCELLENCE IN FOCUS

Despite being the eldest son of Kidapawan City’s longest-serving mayor and now North Cotabato Provincial Board Member Joseph Evangelista, Mayor Attorney Pao, as he is fondly called, initially nixed politics. “I’m really averse to politics. Because again, there’s a stigma that politics is dirty,” Evangelista notes. “The system corrupts the person.”

“Politics is dirty in the sense that people are willing to destroy the reputation of others. They are willing to engage in black propaganda, willing to fabricate lies, willing to fabricate documents just to destroy their opponents,” he laments.

Evangelista graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, cum laude, from Ateneo de Davao University (ADDU) in 2009. He received the Florence Nightingale Award in recognition not only of his outstanding academic performance but also for demonstrating the dedication to the nursing profession and the values that Florence Nightingale espoused. Evangelista pursued law and topped his senior class in ADDU College of Law Batch 2013.

Simultaneous with his law studies, he served as barangay kagawad (barangay councilor) in Barangay Lanao, Kidapawan City for one term. This opened opportunities in local administration and public service. Truly averse to politics, Evangelista turned down public service opportunities when recruited to join the congressional and mayoral races in the next elections. Instead, he taught Criminal Law and Constitutional Law in his alma mater from 2014 to 2019.

SERVICE

As the chief legal officer of Kidapawan City in 2019, it seems like he was back where he started, having served in the same capacity from 2014 to 2015. This broadened his knowledge of the city’s needs and gave him the necessary skills for local administration and legislation. As he drafted executive orders, examined contracts involving the city government, and provided legal assistance to the community, he saw the gaps that needed to be filled.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit the city, Evangelista was appointed as the operations chief of the Kidapawan City COVID-19 Nerve Center. With his intelligent and compassionate leadership, he oversaw the daily COVID-19 response operations in the city. Among others, he ensured enough hospital beds for critical patients and the provision of COVID-19 home care kits complete with paracetamol, vitamins, face masks, alcohol, thermometer, and oximeter. Having been named as head of the City Information Office, Evangelista anchored a radio program focusing on the dissemination of important information on how the public could stay safe throughout the pandemic.

In his years of service, Evangelista witnessed the extensive needs of the people of Kidapawan. Despite his initial aversion to politics and amidst starting to build his family, he stepped up to the challenge and ran for mayor. The urge to bring about positive change prompted Evangelista to run for office. “I saw that there was a lot that needed to be done in the city, a lot that needed to be changed, and that was the trigger for me to join politics,” he shares.

ESPOUSING POSITIVE CHANGE

Despite avoiding traditional campaign tactics and waging a positive campaign, the then first-time candidate was still not spared from black propaganda. “Madami pong tinapon na putik (A lot of mudslinging took place) but I never retaliated,” he shares. “

“It was a message of positivity,” Evangelista describes his campaign. “I wanted to prove that a candidate can win without engaging in black propaganda and dirty politics, relying solely on the beauty of the platform and the positivity of the message that they’re trying to send to the public.” Evangelista’s message and approach resonated among Kidapawan residents, especially among the young voters. In the end, he received a clear mandate, earning more than 60 percent of the votes cast. The urgency of bringing about positive change also motivated Evangelista to skip the city council race and instead go straight to the mayoral race. He believed that being the local chief executive would give him a better chance to serve his constituents. “The changes are immediately felt by the people. With one stroke of the pen, I am able to implement projects that could further my initiatives,” he shares.

MORE THAN JUST A LEGACY

Evangelista recognizes that being a third-generation politician landed him the city’s mayoral seat. However, he wants to get out of the shadow of his father and grandfather by pushing for his various advocacies. “That’s the irony. I’m a product of political familiarity. And that’s the very thing I’m trying to change also. Admittedly, I benefited from the family name that I inherited from them. But I dream of the day when candidates for public office would no longer rely on their family names just to win,” he shares. Although bent on making a name for himself, the mayor still values the lessons he learned from his father and grandfather. “The most important lesson that I learned from them is that when you make decisions, you consider all sides, you consider all those who are concerned before signing the document or before instituting a policy. So it’s the balancing of interests in decision making,” he says.

IDEALISM AND ENTHUSIASM

Evangelista’s enthusiasm has not gone unnoticed. He was ranked sixth among the Top Performing City Mayors by RPMission and Development Foundation Inc. in the first quarter of 2023, a year after being elected, and then moved to fifth spot in the next quarter. A champion of sustainability, Evangelista was also named as Local Chief Executive of the Year (Gold Category) in the Nation Builders and MOSLIV Awards. In the same search, Kidapawan City won Most Sustainable and Liveable City. Kidapawan City was also cited as the ninth Most Improved Component City in 2023 by the Department of Trade and Industry.

The youthful mayor points to enthusiasm to serve and a clean record as main reasons for his good showing so far. “The fire and the enthusiasm of first-term politicians [like me] to prove themselves, and our idealism can make a difference in our communities. We are untainted by corruption or dirty politics,” the local chief executive says.

SUSTAINABILITY IN AGRICULTURE

Evangelista shares that instead of pursuing urbanization, Kidapawan wants to sustain its agricultural identity and ensure that agriculture is rich, resilient, and sustainable. “Kidapawan’s role is to provide agricultural products, provide fruits, and maintain nature’s beauty through environmental protection. So we play to our strengths and we do not pretend to be or dream to be something else,” he stresses. The local chief executive shares that the city has an incentive program for farmers and fishermen of inland fisheries who are accredited by the Department of Agriculture as engaging in good agricultural practices. The incentive can go as high as PhP 50,000.

The LGU also actively promotes agritourism, prioritizing building roads going to agritourism areas. In 2023, the city constructed and rehabilitated almost six kilometers of roads, including those leading to agritourism areas. The city supports food production through its Buy Back Program where the government provides three inputs, which could be seedlings with fertilizers or fingerlings with aqua seeds, on the condition that the produce will be sold to the local government. “We provide three inputs, including fertilizers, with the condition that they sell it back to us and the amount that we buy should be not less than 50 percent of the cost of the inputs that we gave them. So actually, it’s double purpose since they no longer have to look for a market. We created our own market—our trading post–—where the LGU buys the products of our farmers,” Evangelista explains.

Evangelista presented the Palay Support Program, which yielded PhP 20 million gross income to farmers. The milled rice was sold to 30,000 recipients for only PhP 20 to PhP 25 per kilogram. Through the Buy Back Program, the city government buys the palay (unhusked rice) from the farmers, and the city mills such through its own rice processing center. The price of rice was significantly lower than the market price because the cost of production in milling the palay was already shouldered by the government.

Under the Corn Support Program, the gross income of farmers reached PhP 31 million in 2023. The Vegetable Support Program yielded 2.7 million tons of vegetables while the Fishery Support Program produced 42 tons of fish and yielded PhP 5 million gross income for fishermen.

The overarching goal is to foster a sustainable environment where farmers and fishermen are given incentives to persist in their respective trades. When these vital industries falter, the repercussions are dire: farmlands are sold off, paving the way for corporate entities to transform them into commercial or residential properties, eroding the agricultural landscape in the process.

Evangelista is adamant about halting this cycle, hence his unwavering commitment to fortifying the Buy Back Program. This initiative not only shields farmers from the pressure of seeking markets for their goods but also addresses the harsh reality that producers of perishable agricultural products often fall victim to exploitative pricing by unscrupulous private traders. The city government ensures fair compensation for agricultural products, compelling private traders to engage in competitive practices, ultimately driving prices up and safeguarding the interests of local farmers. “At least we’re giving justice to the efforts of the farmers and, if you buy at a proper price, then the farmers are also encouraged to plant more,” Evangelista says.

ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY AND PROTECTION

Proud of its lush forests and Mount Apo, Evangelista is on a mission to protect and give back to the wonders nature provides the city. During the 26th Charter Anniversary of Kidapawan City held on February 12, 2024, the city marked the planting of its one millionth seedling. The one millionth seedling is part of the Canopy ‘25 campaign that aims to plant 2.5 million trees by 2025, the end of Evangelista’s first term as mayor. Evangelista’s collaboration with over 400 stakeholders, including government agencies, private entities, religious organizations, and schools, led to widespread tree planting. Every group and household is urged to plant trees, ensuring a greener future for Kidapawan. This initiative, aside from benefitting future generations, also fosters community pride and environmental stewardship. “The people see the goodness in their actions, and see that they can make a positive contribution to the community,” he stresses. The city engaged Palafox and Associates in developing the city’s Urban Development Master Plan which details the city’s drainage master plan. Evangelista was taken aback during his first weeks in office where Kidapawan City suffered from severe flooding. He immediately saw the need to investigate the flooding and discovered that it was improper waste disposal that blocked the drainages and canals of the city.

Evangelista opened the first plastic and glass recycling facility in Kidapawan City and North Cotabato a month after the flooding. The facility processes plastic bottles, paper, styrofoam, and used cooking oil to produce eco-bricks and eco-hollow blocks. In 2023, the facility produced 17,123 bricks from 1,043 kilograms of plastic and 7,664 hollow blocks from 42,993 kilograms of glass bottles.

Residents segregate qualified solid waste and forward them to the city for processing at the recycling facility. Thereafter, the city’s produced eco-bricks and eco-hollow blocks will be returned to the barangays for their drainage projects. “So, instead of clogging drainage canals, these plastic bottles will serve as instruments to make water flow freely and prevent flooding,” he explains.

ENSURING INCLUSIVITY AND IMPROVED QUALITY OF LIFE

With a soft heart for indigenous peoples, Evangelista institutionalized the Indigenous Peoples’ (IP) Code which localized the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act of 1997. The code recognizes, protects, and promotes the rights and welfare of IPs of Kidapawan, such as the Obo Monuvu who live at the foot of Mount Apo. “They [IPs] were the very first settlers here in the city. They are a foundation of our community,” he explains.

The mayor stresses that the identity of the city lies in the identity of the IPs and he would not want it to be lost with modernization. “At least five percent of the budget of the LGU should be allocated for the promotion and preservation of the culture of the indigenous peoples,” he says. Another goal of the local chief executive is to improve the quality of life of the general population with reliable power and water supply. “When we did a survey before the elections, the main concern of 76 percent of Kidapawan people was stable power connection and stable water supply,” he shares. Evangelista established Task Force Kuryente and Task Force Tubig as technical working groups to work together with the local power cooperative and the water district to identify the challenges and potential solutions to ensure a reliable power and water supply.

EMPOWERING PEOPLE’S ORGANIZATIONS

Another program of Evangelista is APOKIDS: Advancing People’s Organizations of Kidapawan through Innovations and Development of Social Capital. According to him, he wanted to change the dynamics of the people’s organizations because initially, they simply waited for projects and funds from the national government. Sharing his enthusiasm, Evangelista made these organizations proactive and self-reliant.

Through APOKIDS, citizen involvement and participatory governance are strengthened to promote good governance. The city assisted in organizational diagnosis, localizing the mission, vision, and goals to establish their identity, choosing their leaders, having an entrepreneurial mindset, teaching financial literacy, records management, and identifying each one’s strengths so they know their advantages. With this, they were able to come up with projects that actually focused on the real needs of the communities.

A VISION FOR DEVELOPMENT

Evangelista highlights that the local government working hand-in-hand with its people is the way to progress. “Progress should not only be left to the hands of the government; it depends on the cooperation of everyone,” he stresses. With this, he encourages citizen engagement and participation in implementing public policies, and participatory governance to achieve good governance. This approach has worked well in addressing a number of concerns in the city, for instance in significantly bringing down the incidence of motorcycle theft.

“I think the biggest challenge is to anticipate development,” Evangelista underscores. He envisions his comprehensive development plan being implemented continuously so that balanced development will be pursued, ensuring that economic growth will be coupled by environmental protection, resiliency, and people’s empowerment.