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| (Image Source: Gadgets Magazine/WWF Philippines) |
Batangas City, the provincial capitol of Batangas, has been hailed as the World's Most Livable City and the overall winner of the 2020 edition of the "We Love Cities" challenge organized and presented by the World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF). This was announced online via Zoom last October 28, 2020 and attended by representatives of WWF national offices across the globe and We Love Cities campaign finalists.
"We're overwhelmed and happy. The challenge brought us together and made us proud as citizens of our city. We want to thank WWF Philippines for their great support and guidance throughout this challenge," said Batangas City environment and natural resources officer Oliver Gonzales. "This We Love Cities award for Batangas City is particularly special," said WWF Philippines Climate and Energy Program Head Atty. Angela Ibay. "It also highlights the active engagement that Filipinos have with their cities as they promote their solutions and aim to make their cities more livable, sustainable and resilient. It is truly aligned with WWF's call Together Possible."
The We Love Cities campaign, which has empowered the general public globally with the opportunity to celebrate, vote and upgrade their city through suggestions made and addressed to decision-makers, is interwoven with the One Planet City Challenge (OPCC), WWF's biennial global challenge that guides cities towards the most effective climate action while publicly recognizing the most ambitious cities as leaders in the field of sustainable urban development. Citizens from participating countries have expressed their love and support for their cities with the campaign garnering over 1,170,000 votes throughout available social media platforms, 4.6 million social media engagements and a social media reach of 80 million.
Through the OPCC, the country's declared national winner for 2020 Batangas City as well as national finalists Muntinlupa City and Sta. Rosa City were the representatives for the Philippines in this year's We Love Cities campaign which eventually ranked in the Top 10 out of 54 cities in 26 different countries across the globe for the said edition. "Our three Philippine cities that participated in the We Love Cities campaign really stepped up to the plate and did quite well, even as they were addressing the current challenges brought by the pandemic. We are truly honored by their participation," Ibay added.
"This means a lot to us, especially since we've been hit by the pandemic. The city is doing its best in implementing various initiatives and efforts. We have something new to hold on to, and this is great news for all of us. This win will inspire us to keep on going and work hand-in-hand for this city," said Gonzales. Aside from recognizing the importance of public engagement in achieving sustainability goals, Batangas City also aims to be the first carbon-neutral city in the country by the year 2030 and has developed a comprehensive climate and mitigation plan to realize this vision.
