Thousands of supporters of Bacolod Rep. Greg Gasataya waved their cellular phone lights and cheered as he ended his State of the District Address with the promise to continue to work for the good of Bacolodnons on Sunday, July 7.
“Continue to watch me work”, Gasataya said in his “Serbisyong May Puso (Service with a Heart)” report before a jampacked crowd at the University of St. La Salle Coliseum in Bacolod City.
Gasataya is on his third and last term as congressman of Bacolod so his telling the crowd to continue to watch him work raised speculations on his plans for 2025.
When asked if he is planning to run for mayor, Gasataya told reporters he has not made any decision for 2025 yet. His options are to run for an elective post or not was all he would say.
In his speech, Gasataya announced that the Bacolod Negros Economic Highway will be fully operational on August 30.
“It is a trailblazing project, which will definitely open new growth areas for Bacolod City,” he said.
Gasataya said he pushed for the construction of the Bacolod stretch of the economic highway and Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez for the northern Negros stretch when he was congressman.
Gasataya also said as congressman he saw to the passage of laws for free education in all state universities and colleges, the conversion of the Carlos Hilado State College into a university, the expansion of the Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital from a 400 to a 1,000-bed capacity facility, and the construction of the Bacolod City General Hospital.
The congressman’s speech was interspersed with stories exemplifying how his “Serbisyong May Puso” work touched and changed lives.
He also reported that his congressional office provided medical assistance to 22,711 beneficiaries, burial assistance to 6,731, financial aid to 40,263 and aided 10,244 scholars.
Also provided was medical assistance to 18,087 indigent patients at the Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital, and aid to 20,990 “Tulong Panghanapbuhay Sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers” and 6,300 “Ayuda sa Kapos ang Kita Program” beneficiaries.
His office also paid P50,989,000 for the medical bills of 279 Bacolod patients in hospitals outside Bacolod City, Gasataya added.
Under his watch as congressman, Gasataya also said 14 health centers, 338 multipurpose buildings, 21 barangay halls, 24 barangay vehicles, 8 markets, 767 classrooms in 33 schools, 125 flood control and drainage projects, 36 bridges, 221 road projects and 28 farm to market roads were provided.*