Dear Rep. Raul and Cutie del Mar

Warm greetings of God’s grace and peace to you both!

 Many of your constituents, including those who voted for you both in various past elections, would like to request you to agree to a dialogue at the soonest time possible. Can you heed their request and agree to a dialogue about your proposed flyover projects soonest, before any further action is implemented related to this contested issue?

 You may ask what good will a dialogue do when there is an obvious polarization of forces among those who are in favor and those who are not in favor of the proposed flyover project?

 At best, it will bring you and all those like you who sincerely have only the good of Cebu and the Cebuanos in their hearts and minds together. At best, those who are against the project will get to hear your side directly, up, close and personal, and they can dialogue with you and you with them. At best, you will hear their side as well, up, close and personal. At best, even as you and the other groups may still end the dialogue with differing views, you and these groups will have done your best TOGETHER to work for unity and understanding. Won’t that be worth the effort rather than leave the matter as is now with so much dissent, discord and distrust in the hearts and minds of so many Cebuanos and Filipinos?

 The dialogue can also allow your constituents to understand how governance works in Cebu – that you are one with those who wish to have transparency and accountability among public leaders, on the one hand, and those who wish to see a responsible and informed citizenry working together with their elected officials for the best of Cebu City and the Cebuanos.

 It will be much appreciated if you can also bring to the dialogue the DPWH and officials who can enlighten the constituents about the merits of the projects just as they had convinced you and the RDC to endorse this project. Please ask the DPWH to kindly bring their surveys, their supporting documents that can shed light about why the traffic situation merit the construction of P600 million now. By doing so, you will be able to educate your constituents about how the DPWH and local officials work together in terms of planning and proposing development projects.

 Begging your indulgence, can you also please bring to the dialogue representatives of DBM who can explain to the public how proposed plans like the flyover projects get to be funded and what will happen if the implementation of the project is postponed (for example, to accommodate the public request for a moratorium until the urgency and necessity of the project can be truly confirmed, with supporting comprehensive survey and research data and findings?).  The presence of the DBM with you in the requested dialogue can again provide the golden opportunity for our people, your constituents, to be educated about government policy making and implementation. 

 Can you imagine how you can make possible the invaluable understanding and knowledge that can be derived from a dialogue with you and the DPWH and DBM?

 Aside from better understanding and better education about your position as well as government procedures and policy formulation and implementation, the dialogue may even allow the wider space for creating a more stable base of participative constituents for more positive development projects and programs for Cebu City and the Cebuanos.

 The dialogue is a venue for unity, for understanding, for trust, for faith to be restored, renewed and consolidated across sectors, all for the good of God, people, and our city and country.

 Can your constituents look forward to your immediate positive reply and that you will call for a dialogue soonest, before any action can be finalized related to the implementation of the contested flyover projects? Can you allow good faith and trust to reign by meeting the people who, like you, want unity and the best for Cebu City and the Cebuanos?

 If the dialogue is unacceptable to you, can you instead consider joining the dawn prayer session at Asilo this Saturday to ask God to guide us through His plan, His will for His people, His creations?

 Thank you very much and God bless you Representative Raul and Cutie Del Mar and your families.

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 Email: [email protected](email at [email protected])