Adding to his string of national awards, Mayor Benjamin Lim was honored on June 19 as one of the recipients of the prestigious Dr. Jose P. Rizal Awards for Excellence along with Tony Tancaktiong, owner of Jollibee Food Corporations, and world-class singer-songwriter Jose Mari Chan in Intramuros, Manila.

The award, handed out by Senator Mar Roxas, recognized Lim as a Chinese-Filipino member of the Philippine society who has excelled in his chosen profession and have contributed to the growth and development of his city.

Lim was credited by the organizers for bringing about many positive changes in the area of public service and local governance and for “applying business management expertise to governance.”

According to the organizers, Lim, upon his assumption as a mayor in 2001, has transformed Dagupan into a model local government unit that pioneered innovations in the local governance as attested by numerous international, national and regional awards and recognition.

As a local chief executive, Lim was chosen as one of the country’s six outstanding city mayors and bagged the 2003 Local Government Leadership Award. Recently, Dagupan was recognized as one of the Most Competitive Small Cities in the Philippines by the Asian Institute of Management, US Agency of International Development and The Asia Foundation.

“Lim has channeled revenues into making Dagupan a modern, attractive, competitive and tourist-friendly place,” according to an article published in a Chinese-Filipino news magazine.

The article further said that Lim has successfully cut bureaucratic red tape by setting up at City Hall a one-stop business center that facilitates the processing of permits, licenses and tax payments. With this, the city’s income leaped 73 percent to P98 million, reducing its dependence on the internal revenue allotment from the national government.

The Dr. Jose P. Rizal Awards, which began four years ago, commemorates the contributions to the nation of outstanding Filipinos of Chinese descent. The other awardees included Gerie Chue (business and entrepreneurship), Robert Go (community service), Dr. Paulino Tan (education), Dr. Willie Ong (medicine), and Jose Sy (science and technology). Special awardees were Angsin Taguibao (arts and culture) and the Wushu Federation of the Philippines (sports). (CIO/Leziel T. Cayabyab)