FRESH MANDATE. Elected Dagupan City Mayor Belen Fernandez delivers her inaugural speech on Thursday (June 30, 2022). Fernandez won against former Mayor Marc Brian Lim. (Photo courtesy of Hilda Austria) DAGUPAN CITY - The tricycle permit, regulatory, and franchise fee here will be free for the operators from July 2022 to 2025 as part of the campaign promise of newly-elected Mayor Belen Fernandez. In a speech on her inauguration on Thursday, Fernandez thanked the members of the Sangguniang Panlungsod for passing the ordinance revising a portion of the revenue code of the city to give way to the request of tricycle drivers and operators. "With the help of our friends in Sanggunian, we were able to deliver some of our promises," she said referring to the moratorium on the franchise and other fees for tricycle drivers and operators. In the past, aside from the franchise fee that was valid for three years, operators and drivers still had to pay the regulatory fees like mayor's permit, stickers, and identification cards amounting to over PHP700 annually. Fernandez said there are a total of 2,500 tricycle drivers and operators in the city as of June 2022. "We will lift the burden of our constituents," she said. Meanwhile, Fernandez said the city will allot PHP200 million for the scholarship program for college or university studies of some 5,000 young people. "This might be the most ambitious plan of our administration among our other plans," she said. Fernandez said she also plans to continue the waste-to-energy project that was introduced during her previous term as mayor of the city, adding the need to address solid waste issues. She likewise assured corruption and abuses will not have a place in her administration while she maintains closer ties with the communities. "I am excited to be with our constituents in their barangays where I could listen personally to their concerns," Fernandez added. She urged residents to become models and inspirations to one another. Fernandez won against former Mayor Marc Brian Lim with 67,499 votes. (PNA) }