CEBU, Philippines - Lapu-Lapu City mayoralty candidate Efrain Pelaez likens himself to former Singapore Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, who transformed his country into what it is now from an underdeveloped colonial outpost.
“I’m a little Lee Kuan Yew. I’m the guy who wants to change Lapu-Lapu City and that is my dream,” Pelaez told The FREEMAN in a recent “Know Your Candidates” forum.
If elected mayor, businessman-turned politician Pelaez said one of his goals is to convert the city into a “little Singapore” that will compete with neighboring countries.
Pelaez said the city’s west coast, which stretches from barangay Suba-Basbas to barangay Punta Engaño, is the city’s tourism zone.
Converting half of the island into a properly supervised tourism corridor is included in Pelaez’s 10-point agenda.
Pelaez intends to start by adopting the barangays along the coastline and making them model tourist zones by developing no less than 20 kilometers of a widened and paved highway from Punta Engaño to the boundary of Cordova.
Pelaez would also want to clean up the city, claiming that the clean and green program of the present administration has failed to do its job.
Paz Radaza, the wife of incumbent Mayor Arturo Radaza who heads the clean and green program, is also running for mayor.
“I’m here to clean up the city. I want to fulfill that dream. How can you invite investors into your city if it’s dirty? Look around,” Pelaez said.
Pelaez admitted it’s an “uphill battle” going up against the Radazas but remains optimistic he will win the race. (FREEMAN NEWS)