ATTY. RAYMOND ALVIN N. GARCIA
Mayor of Cebu City
Raymond Alvin Neri Garcia is a lawyer, civic leader, and public servant in Cebu City, Philippines.
On October 9, 2024, he ascended as Mayor of Cebu City in compliance with a DILG order after serving as Acting Mayor since May 13 of the same year.
Since May 13, 2024, he has been discharging the function of Mayor of Cebu City in an acting capacity, and since October, has fully assumed the position in compliance to a DILG order.
Prior to winning his first term as Vice Mayor, and ascension to the mayorship, Atty. Garcia was presiding officer of the 16th Sangguniang Panlungsod and majority floor leader of the 15th Sanggunian.
He is credited as having authored the greatest number of approved ordinances at 43, and the most number of resolutions at 3,320, as well as the most number of committee reports – 333 – all in one term.
Among the approved local laws he authored as councilor are:
• the ordinance providing gratuity pay as retirement benefits of elected barangay officials;
• the ordinance that mandates the provision of free school supplies to public elementary pupils of the city every year;
• ordinances that provided financial assistance to barangays for their COVID-19 response;
• the ordinance that provides amnesty for Cebu City business owners and residents who were unable to pay their taxes as a result of the pandemic;
• the ordinance that extended the validity of business permits to two years; and,
• the Cebu City Anti-Noise Ordinance; and, the Cebu City Anti-Speeding ordinances.
As Vice Mayor, he also introduced:
• the approved ordinance that allowed contract of service employees to receive gratuity pay in lieu of bonuses enjoyed by casual, co-terminus, and regular employees;
• the approved ordinance creating the Cebu City Heritage District and Cebu City Heritage District Council;
• the approved ordinances institutionalizing the Rajah Tupas Awards, and the Heritage Awards, and;
• the measure that institutionalizes the celebration of Cebu City Arts Month.
Born on January 29, 1977 to Mrs. Trinidad Neri Garcia and Atty. Alvin Biano Garcia, former Cebu City Mayor, Raymond entered government service as a barangay councilor, serving the community of his youth – Kamputhaw.
He left behind a quiet yet lucrative career in the business sector as Assistant Vice President and, subsequently, Corporate Secretary of Sun.Star Cebu, something he’d been preparing himself for by finishing his law degree at the University of San Carlos and a Masters of Science in Business Administration at the University of Asia and the Pacific.
Finding himself resonating more with service to the community, his work in Kamputhawearned him the respect of fellow barangay officials who, in 2013, elected him president of the Cebu City Chapter of the Barangay Councilors League of the Philippines.
He held that post until 2016, when he campaigned in Cebu City’s North District and won a seat in the Cebu City Council under Kugi Uswag Sugbo, the party his father founded. Raymond became the minority floor leader of the 14th Sangguniang Panglungsod on his neophyte term and served his constituency with distinction until the end of his first term in 2019.
His effort was rewarded with a fresh mandate in May of 2019, as well as recognition from such groups as the Rotary Club of Cebu, Don Bosco, and the Alpha Kappa Rho fraternity.
As a member of the 15th Sangguniang Panglungsod, Raymond was also elected by peers to serve as president of the Philippine Councilors League Cebu City chapter as well as the organization’s regional assembly.
RESULTA
As Vice Mayor of Cebu City and Presiding Officer of the Cebu City Council, Atty. Garcia espouses a legislative agenda nga mupakita og RESULTA to its constituents.
R – for RESPONSIVENESS to the development agenda of the administration through the enactment of legislation that will help attain the administration’s his vision of a Singapore like city that is second to none.
E – for EDUCATION, or a commitment to enable the establishment of the Cebu City College and the expansion of the City’s scholarship and sports program which, right now, benefits hundreds of students taking specialized programs across many campuses.
S – for SETTLEMENTS, or enabling through legislation a comprehensive and truly socialized housing program that is not limited only to the so-called poorest of the poor, but also to the aspiring sector, and those who have a capacity for income but cannot otherwise afford to access the commercial housing market.
U – for URBAN DEVELOPMENT, or the passage of the needed resolutions and ordinances that support the continued development of a Cebu City that is second to none, but not without mindfulness and sensitivity to sustainability of the environment, the health of all living things, the protection of our culture, identity, and heritage, and the state of agriculture and food security.
L – for LIVELIHOOD and opportunities for meaningful, viable, and dignified Labor,by crafting laws that facilitate programs that improve the state of life of the low-income sector, giving opportunities for jobs and opportunities to engage in business, and improving the local business climate thru, among other things, another round of tax amnesties and other initiatives on ease of doing business.
T – for TRANSPORTATION AND TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT, which means enabling through legislation, initiatives that address the behemoth task of ensuring that people and goods are able to go to where they need to go in the fastest and most convenient way possible. This includes, on top of realizing the BRT Project, exploring other mass transport systems.
A – for ADVANCEMENT, or advancing the participation and representation of civil society like people’s organizations, the youth, senior citizens, PWDs, cultural minorities, and the LGBT in governance by giving space for meaningful engagement, empowerment, dialogue, exchange of ideas and consensus-building, which can lead us towards jointly facilitating, designing, and implementing more effective responses and ideas to needs of our city.
FAMILY
CHIEF OF STAFF
Samsuden “Sam” Salimbago
ORGANIZATIONS
