CEBU, Philippines - Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri yesterday led the ceremonial ribbon cutting of San Fernando Public Market’s administration building which he funded through his Priority Development and Assistance Fund (PDAF).
Zubiri, in his speech before the ceremony, said he gave P1 million to San Fernando as part of his Every Town One Project (ETOP) program.
Most of the towns in the Visayas and Mindanao have already received their P1 million share each, but not all of these have used the funds “properly like San Fernando.” He cited one town in Mindanao, where the P500,000 he donated was used to buy a tiger.
The Senator said it is always the mayors that decide how the money will used, but said that he also makes it a point to visit their towns to see if the money was well spent or not.
Zubiri also cited one town which used his PDAF share to build a comfort room building inside a public cemetery.
Zubiri admired outgoing Mayor Lakambini “Neneth” Reluya who used up the entire amount to make the first market administration two-story building, which he together with the hundreds of students, teachers, market goers and residents witnessed yesterday’s inauguration.
The building was constructed two years ago, and was completed last March, said Reluya.
It was timely that Zubiri had a speaking engagement at the Cebu International Convention Center for a tourism event there yesterday, that the town had the chance to invite him for the inauguration of his own project, said Reluya.
Reluya said she used the P1 million to build the market administration building as the public market, which has been in existence for the last nine years, has without it, and a “proper comfort room,” of which she also addressed by putting up this facility at the ground floor level of the new building.
The town shelled out P100,00 to complete the project, she said.
Meanwhile, before he left for Cebu City, Zubiri promised to give another project to the town, this time a comfort room building for the national high school there. (FREEMAN NEWS)