“In order to achieve accomplishments, one must first accomplish determination.”—Mariveles Mayor Ace Jello Concepcion
It is a statistic hummed by government officials in this town—every family in Mariveles has at least three breadwinners.
“The family is not dependent on only one working member,” said Mariveles Mayor Ace Jello Concepcion.
He added that these three to four breadwinners in every family are all locally employed. They don’t have to leave their loved ones and go to a faraway country to look for work.
Concepcion is proud to say that in the past year alone, Mariveles has generated around 38,000 jobs for its constituents.
“This was possible through continuous investments and partnerships with international companies, with the assistance of the Authority of the Freeport Area of Bataan (AFAB),” he said.
Jesus Russel T. Maninang, Municipal Administrator of Mariveles, bared that their town is the third richest municipality in the entire country.
“Mariveles is the no. 3 richest out of a total of 1,489 towns, according to the 2016 Commission on Audit (COA) Annual Financial Report,” Maninang said.
The 33-year-old millennial administrator added that last year, Mariveles was also one of the recipients of the Seal of Good and Local Governance Award bestowed by the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG).
It is the third consecutive time that Mariveles has won the award.
The town was likewise recognized by the Council for the Welfare of Children (CWC) as the “Most Child-Friendly Municipality in the Philippines.”
For all the accolades earned, there is still no stopping its millennial mayor from accomplishing more. “We are just beginning to see a healthier and more improved municipality. Together with all our local government workers, we take pride in all our accomplishments and vow to continue in providing for our community,” Concepcion said.
Philippines Graphic made a count down of 17 outstanding projects of Mariveles over the past two years.
No. 17 LED street lights
The municipal government will place street lights in all 18 barangays. Already, it has installed 100 street lights for eight barangays in Mariveles: Barangays Poblacion, Balon, San Isidro, San Carlos, Batangas Dos, Townsite, Cabcaben, and Alion. Priority was given to barangays with heavy foot traffic.
LED lights were also installed along the National Road and Highways to provide a safer environment for our constituents, Maninang said. “We have also purchased additional two firetrucks, six dump trucks, one patrol and two ambulance cars, all for providing more efficient public service.”
No. 16 Newly-constructed Executive Conference Hall
The Executive Conference Hall was fully established in 2017. It is now the venue for several municipal meetings such as Budget Meetings, Annual Investment Plan Meetings, and Meetings with Barangay Captains. It has modern technology which allows for more effective presentation and discussion. The Executive Conference Hall is found beside the office of the Mayor.
No. 15 Command Center
This project serves as the electronic eyes and ears that keep Mariveles residents safe. There are CCTVs and computers linked to a mega-screen. Police and fire rescue teams are on round-the-clock alert.
No. 14 Rehabilitation of the Municipal Building
As part of the Local Government Unit’s plan in the continuous development of the municipality, it has also been putting effort in beautifying its own Municipal Compound. The Office of the Mayor, Office of the Vice Mayor, Office of the Municipal Administrator and the Office of the Sangguniang Bayan members underwent the first part of the rehabilitation while others are still in the renovation and construction phase. Furthermore, one of the highlights of the said rehabilitation is the newly constructed fountain located in front of the municipal grounds enjoyed by many locals.
No. 13 Historical Building
The proposed Historical building will be strategically located at the 0KM Marker. It will house the Municipal Historical Council and archive documents of the municipality. This is part of the Local Government Unit’s effort to preserve the rich history of Mariveles in addition to its vast eco and industrial tourism. The Historical building will also serve as a museum which will be open to the public.
No. 12 Tourism Building
Initially located at the Mariveles People’s Park, the Municipal Tourism building will be moved to the 0KM Marker beside the proposed Historical building. This will be the single location where tour operators offering packages can process their required documents for a more convenient transaction. Tourists may also inquire at our Tourism office for information on what our municipality can offer them in terms of industrial, historical and eco-tourism. A Pasalubong Center will also be a part of the building to showcase the products of Mariveles.
No.11 PSO Building
The proposed Public Safety Office building will house the municipality’s safety officers and personnel. It wil serve as their headquarters where they can also entertain complaints and concerns.
No. 10 Senior Citizens and Cooperative Building
The proposed Senior Citizens Cooperative Building will serve as the office for the members of the Senior Citizens and cooperatives. This is where they can facilitate their meetings and coordinate with the other offices.
No. 9 Mariveles Grains
The Mariveles Grains Terminal which was founded in 1996 is currently located at Barangay Baseco, Mariveles, Bataan. It operates a grain terminal which handles various products and services such as storage and distribution of grain products. The company has also offered numerous job opportunities for the constituents of Mariveles.
No. 8 GN Power
GNPower Mariveles Coal Plant is a partnership among AC Energy, Aboitiz Power subsidiary Therma Power and Power Partners. The 632MW power plant started commercial operations in February 2014 and has since been providing competitively priced baseload power to several distribution utilities.
AC Energy, Inc. is the development arm of the Ayala group in the energy sector. The company is committed to build a portfolio of power generation assets using renewable and conventional technologies. AC Energy shall contribute to the country’s energy requirements to power the nation’s progress.
An additional GN 600 MW will supply electricity for the whole of Luzon.
No. 7 Congressman Tet Garcia Legislative Building
The proposed two-story building will serve as the new Sangguniang Bayan building.
It will house the Sangguniang Bayan Session Hall, the Sangguniang Bayan Members and Staff Office, the Library and Archives, as well as the Alternative Learning System and a cafeteria.
No. 6 National Agencies Building
It will be a One-Stop-Shop for all national agency transactions—from the Philippine Postal Corporation (PhilPost), Commission on Elections (Comelec), Public Attorney’s Office (PAO), Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), Commission on Audit (CoA), and the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG).
Mariveles Mayor Ace Jello Concepcion said the three-storey building will provide a more convenient location for the town’s constituents who are processing their documents.
No. 5 Mariveles One-Stop-Shop
According to Mariveles Mayor AJ Concepcion, the three-storey building will provide a more convenient location for the town’s constituents who are processing their documents. Now undergoing construction, it will have a connecting bridge to the main municipal building.
No. 4 Municipal Disaster Risk Reducation and Management Office
The proposed two-storey building has state of the art equipment for monitoring storm paths and tidal threats. It is equipped with a disaster response vehicle and boats for saving those distressed at sea.
Municipal Administrator Maninang added that a 13-man municipal response team from Mariveles participated in the recent Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Asia 2018 held at the SMX Convention Center in Davao City. The summit aimed to hone skills in disaster preparedness and emergency response techniques.
No. 3 Housing
Providing for the housing needs of its constituents is a priority for the municipal government of Mariveles.
Recently, Fiesta Communities, a local government housing project done in partnership with the private sector was offered to the public.
“In a span of three days, the 1,000 units offered were all sold out,” said Mariveles Mayor AJ Concepcion.
He mentioned that they had talked to the Fiesta Communities owner to give the residents of Mariveles the first option to buy the units. Each unit is basically a one-bedroom row house that fetched less than P2.500 a month.
“Considering that a worker inside the Freeport Area of Bataan pays P2,500 for bed space, the Fiesta Communities unit is reasonably priced,” Concepcion said.
He added that they tried offering the Fiesta Communities units to Mariveles informal settlers that were up for relocation.
“We offered it with a P20,000 incentive from the province, and a P10,000 incentive from the local government, plus a discount from the Fiesta Communities. Well, a few took the opportunity but many didn’t,” he said.
Concepcion also said that the Mariveles local government is studying, benchmarking a relocation project in Valenzuela City called Disiplina Village.
“It’s a five-hectare property owned by the Valenzuela City government. They partnered with the National Housing Authority to build medium-rise houses. There is health servicing, a small wet market, a day-care center, peace and order facilities for the Philippine National Police (PNP), and even a fire station. Informal settlers don’t get to own their units but they pay only P300 a month. This is a reasonable arrangement, compared to them sleeping under the bridge or beside a mountain.”
No. 2 District Hospital
Mariveles, said Mayor Concepcion, wants to have a hospital because it is located on the far side of the Bataan peninsula.
But what they will build is a district hospital to be run by the province, but with the support and cooperation of its more affluent cities and towns.
“We have invested quite a bit in that hospital by retrofitting the building for about P10 million. We had it retrofitted because it used to be a school. Yes, it’s the school where I spent my high school,” Concepcion added.
Mariveles Administrator Jesus Russel Maninang said the local government also has its “Serbisyong Abot Kamay” every Friday.
It is a weekly visitation to barangays to provide medical and legal services, even a free haircut.
“We also provide free vaccine for animals and organize a regular zumba class,” Maninang said.
No. 1 Iskolar ng Bayan ng Mariveles
Every year, the municipal government of Mariveles provides scholarship grants to some 1,700 deserving junior and senior high school students. Under the Iskolar ng Bayan ng Mariveles program, these students will be recieving an annual allowance of P6,000.
Mayor Concepcion believes that education and health are the two things that all local governments must prioritize. “If our citizens are unschooled, how can they find work? If they are ailing, how can they continue working? Health and education must get top priority,” he said.
New Mariveles logo
Through Resolution No. 045-2017 (Approving the New Logo Design of the Municipality of Mariveles, Province of Bataan) last March 6, 2017, the Local Government Unit of Mariveles released its new logo.
The Philippine Flag found on the top corner represents the peaceful community of Mariveles.
The Fish and Rice on the left side represents the livelihood of the people of the municipality given its abundance of farms and surrounding seas.
The gear on the right side symbolizes the industrial economy of Mariveles being the home of the Freeport Area of Bataan while the gear’s 18 teeth represents the 18 barangays that make up the municipality.
The Rifle with the Soldier Hat is a symbol of the rich history of Mariveles being the starting point of the Death March after the Fall of Bataan during the WW2. This symbol is also found at the municipality’s 0KM Marker as a popular tourist destination.
Lastly, the year 1754 found at the bottom is the year of establishment of the Province.
