Mayor Atty. Rajiv V. Enad

Some were born to impress others, while others were born to inspire. Mayor Rajiv Varron Enad, however, in his selflessness, sincere service, and humility, seemed to have been born to be as impressive as he is inspiring.

This young lawyer and mayorof Minglanilla, southern Cebu, had 18 years to prove his worth in public service. He started as chairman of the Sangguniang Kabataan in his home barangay of Vito, until he was elected for several terms as town councilorbefore emerging victorious in a hotly contested mayoral race in 2022.

Named after Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, Mayor Rajiv is from humble beginnings. His mother, Vickie Varron, was a high school teacher while his father, Engr. Sandy Enad, was a government employee. With his devout devotion to Cebu’s patron, the Sr. Sto. Niño, Mayor Rajiv is the personification of the prayer:“to be patient in adversity, and humble in prosperity.”

Where he is today is the result of a lifetime of enduring work, focus, and persistence. The child Rajiv was drawn to reading, a hobby and study habit that helped him clinch several academic achievements: a degree in Management Accounting at the University of San Carlos, Bachelor of Laws at the University of San Jose Recoletos, Masters in Development Management and Governance, Masters in Public Administration at the National Graduate Institute of Japan where he was a Young Leaders Program Scholar, and juris doctor.

Mayor Rajiv Enad’s assumption in office as mayor at noontime of June 30, 2022 paved the way for a new era for Minglanilla, an era marked with foresight and rapid action on people’s concerns. He intends to steer Minglanilla to greater heights, with a vision to transform it into a magnet for industrial, residential, and commercial development.

Mayor Rajiv introduces new work ethic, new work culture, extraordinary visions, and reforms that will bring his people into the Golden Age of Minglanilla.His rise from being a simple lad to becoming the most influential man in Minglanilla today is nothing short of inspiring. Barely one year in office and yet, Mayor Rajiv Enad has already shown that truly, he is one of Cebu’s top guns in the realm of public service in terms of ability, intellect, vision, and speed by which he makes things done.

He is not even one year in office and yet, he already achieved so much as mayor of his hometown, notably, the unquantifiable accomplishment of bringing back his people’s sense of pride by quickly finding solutions to their endless problems.

First and foremost, he was able to transform the work ethic among town government workers and zoomed in against tardiness by coming in at 7:00 AM himself, to be a role model for them. Government workers in Minglanilla now wear a badge of politeness, humility and respect for all Minglanillahanons.

For decades, Minglanilla had struggled against traffic congestion that it had earned the tag as the traffic capital of Cebu. With Mayor Rajiv Enad, however, this was immediately overturned by upgrading the Minglanilla Traffic Command Center with state-of-the-art cameras, installing new traffic lights, overhauling the entire traffic flow, and approving ordinances aimed at addressing the causes of congestion. Beyond band-aid solutions, and to sustain the improvement, he is actively pushing to open up diversion roads in the municipality.

FLOOD CONTROL AND RISK REDUCTION

Whenever it rains, several barangays in Minglanilla becomes flooded, haunting the residents who have become fearful of the dark clouds. Evenings and weekends, Mayor Rajiv made sure that the town’s Engineering Officefast track the declogging, dredging and cleanup of waterways. Within his first 100 days he widened the rivers and waterways. Floodwaters are promptly pumped out of houses and streets. Thinking beyond the now, Mayor Rajiv has drawn up long term solutions like overhauling the entire drainage system in the municipality so that his people could finally be able to sleep soundly at nights even during downpours.

HEALTH

On his first day as mayor, free mobile diagnostics and medical mission was conducted to bring the strong message that he takes seriously his role of safeguarding his people’s health and well-being. Minglanilla is one of the few LGUs in Cebu that has a Cancer Program where regular papsmear, cervical visual inspection using acetic acid, and breast examination, which are cancer screening and diagnostic assistance are regularly conducted. Within his first 100 days, theMinglanilla RHU was capacitated to conduct screening, treatment and counselling for people with HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases.

SUSTAINABILITY and ENVIRONMENTAL PRESERVATION

While pushing for more developments in his town, sustainability is also foremost in Mayor Rajiv’s mind. Aside from improving the efficiency of garbage collection, Mayor Rajiv pushed for the approval of crucial legislation on solidwaste: imposing the non-use of plastics and Styrofoams on certain days, providing penalty for improper disposal of garbage and other acts of uncleanliness, and implementing solidwaste segregation.

Reports of pollution from industries are promptly investigated, a ban on extraction of sand and gravel from the rivers is implemented, and regular planting of trees of all kinds have since been conducted. Only recently, Mayor Rajiv signed an agreement with a nongovernment organization for the planting of at least 30,000 native and fruit bearing trees in Minglanilla with the help of farmers’ organizations.

His vision for a better and brighter Minglanilla is not just rhetorics, as Mayor Rajiv will put in place renewable street lights in a bid to light up Minglanilla’s main roads, from boundary to boundary.

SUPPORT FOR SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES

Mayor Rajiv has been supportive of small and medium enterprises by promotingtheir products through the wide reach of social media, and by providing venues to display their products to assist them in sustainingtheir livelihood.

YOUTH AND SPORTS

The youth sector is a top priority, being the future leaders who will continue and sustain development and preservation efforts. The Local Youth Development Office is actively organizing events where the youth convergeto celebrate local culture, pursue sports events, and the arts. Aside from his immense contribution to the development of sports in the grassroots, Mayor Rajiv also revived in Minglanilla the love for Arnis, our national martial arts.

MORE PROJECTS

With Mayor Rajiv’s transformational leadership, Minglanilla is at the cusp of rapid and radical change in its physical, political, and economic landscape. A spacious, modern, and spanking new Minglanilla Government Center will soon replace the congested old municipal hall, to give Minglanillahanons ease during transaction, and a landmark that will reflect Minglanilla as a firstclass municipality. It will have facilities for sports and recreation, to realize Mayor Rajiv’s goal of making Minglanilla a better place to live, work and play in.

Since there is also a need for facilities to protect his people during disasters like the typhoons that regularly visit our country, Mayor Rajiv will build 10 evacuation centers equipped with modern cooking and washing areas as well as decent comfort rooms for evacuees.

The municipal plaza is also up for renovation as one of Mayor Rajiv’s flagship projects. Being the most prominent place in any locality, the mayor things it is time for Minglanilla to have a proper plaza that will be delightful to Minglanillahanons and which families can use as space to eat with family and friends, have for leisurely walks, or just spend quiet times.

Mayor Rajiv is thankful to the Municipal Council headed by Vice Mayor Elanito Peña for their unequivocal support, and for the industry of all department heads and National Agency officials assigned in his town. Together, they brought back the people’s trust and sense of pride in Minglanilla’s municipal government, as can be seen from the people’s words of gratefulness, admiration, support, and enthusiasm expressed in the various social media platforms.

He fills Minglanillahanons with high optimism and much hope, not just through his words and vision but through verifiable, tangible and immediate results. With his remarkable performance, Mayor Rajiv has fast become the gold standard for local governance in this part of the country.

His assumption in office last June 30, 2022 was a gamechanger for Minglanila. For the better.