LP: “Equitable” growth needed in urban, rural areas

CEBU, Philippines - Having shared their plans and visions for Mega Cebu, Liberal Party (LP) members who were in the Candidates Fora 2013 yesterday said that there is a need to balance the development and have equitable growth in the urban and the rural areas in Cebu.

The LP candidates who went to the forum at the Cebu Cultural Center were gubernatorial candidate Hilario Davide ²²² and his runningmate, Acting Governor Agnes Magpale. Others were former tourism secretary Ace Durano who is running for congress in the fifth district, mayoral candidates Adelino Sitoy of Cordova and Mayor Teresa Alegado of Consolacion. Jun Pelaez of Lapu-Lapu City also attended.

According to Davide, Cebu has concentrated too much on the urban poor and neglected the rural areas. He said there is much traffic congestion, overcrowded classrooms, and inadequate healthcare.

He furthered said that the perception of economic opportunities in the cities pull the people from small towns where the absence of opportunity pushes people to go to the city.

“We must address this imbalance, we must spread out,” Davide said, adding that the government should be brought closer to the people.

Meanwhile, Magpale said that there should be “inclusive growth” wherein “nobody is left behind” and where everybody should be involved.

Linking road networks and addressing the power needs of the rural areas, meanwhile, will be Durano’s plan to make the rural areas attractive for investments. He said that the economic value of such a project like road networks has been diminished because what the highways need is widening, turning lanes, overtaking lanes and such further improvements to speed up the traffic.

He cited the power issue in the Camotes group of islands as one of the reasons that tourism investors are having a wait-and-see attitude.  He added that there is a need to work closely with the Department of Energy and with the stakeholders to formulate options and make it more attractive to invest and address the power needs in Cebu.

Only two local candidates from the United Nationalist Alliance showed up yesterday afternoon for the Mega Cebu Candidates Forum.

Out of five candidates that reportedly confirmed with organizers, only Lilo-an Mayor Vincent “Duke” Frasco and Mandaue Mayoral candidate Victor Biano were present to present their platforms and plans for development in their respective areas and in Cebu in general.

Frasco, who is running for his last term as mayor under One Cebu - a local party headed by the Garcia family and affiliated with UNA, said that he is willing to work with officials who are not allies if given a chance to serve again so he can continue his 8-point agenda.

Asked which he will prioritize, Frasco said it would be health care services, education and environmental protection. Also, Frasco believes the Sangguniang Kabataan poses an important role for the youth and for the development of the province if involvement in activities of the Local Government Unit would be intensified.

As for Mandaue, Biaño said that there are a number of concerns that he would address if he wins over incumbent Mayor Jonas Cortes.

At present, there are two city colleges that operate in Mandaue wherein one has Biaño as a board of trustee.  — Denelle Dolleson, Bicol University intern and AJ de la Torre/JPM (FREEMAN)