CEBU, Philippines - It’s official. Former sixth district Representative Nerissa Soon-Ruiz is running for vice governor in 2016 alongside former Government Service and Insurance System (GSIS) President Winston Garcia.
The two are the frontrunners of local party One Cebu against Liberal Party’s Hilario Davide III and Agnes Magpale, both sitting officials. Garcia was the first to declare his candidacy for governor.
Garcia said earlier he would want Soon-Ruiz as running mate because, if they win, the latter is a doctor and can attend to health programs while he focuses on infrastructure development of the province.
Both Garcia and Ruiz served as Board Members during the time of former governor Emilio “Lito” Osmeña. After serving one term in the PB, Soon-Ruiz served as congresswoman in the sixth district from 1992 to 1998 and from 2001 to 2010.
The event proclamation at the White Gold House in Cebu City was attended by the party’s candidates in the 44 towns and seven cities, the Provincial Board and the seven congressional districts.
Garcia said he is not a politician like his father and siblings but he wants to bring Cebu to “greater heights.”
He said he will make health care accessible to the poor “for free” and not for a fee like what is reportedly happening. He criticized Davide’s administration for having the “audacity to brag” about the P1.4 billion earnings from hospital fees from province-owned hospitals from January to June this year.
Garcia said he also wants to make Cebu “better than Singapore and Hong Kong” and this can happen with a second runway for the Mactan Cebu International Airport accommodate additional flights. He argued that it is not enough to have an airport that looks nice but with only one runway.
He said a seaport between Liloan and Consolacion should also be made to make way for a better transport of sea cargo as the present port can no longer accommodate the volume of cargoes that go in and out of the country.
To do this, Garcia said Cebu has to reclaim a 200-hectare stretch of the area’s coast. The new seaport is projected to generate at least 100,000 direct jobs and 400,000 indirect jobs, he said.
He said Cebu can also be an export processing zone if given a chance. For this, the province will need 5,000 hectares of reclaimed lot along Talisay to Carcar City where processing buildings can be constructed. He said the project can also make way for a 25-kilometer highway that can serve the south to address the problems on traffic congestion. He said this will also generate 600,000 direct jobs and 2.4 million indirect jobs.
Winston said he can use his more than 20 years as a corporate leader to bring Cebu to “new heights”.
Criticism
Yesterday’s gathering also became an avenue for Garcia’s sister, former governor and now third district Representative Gwen Garcia, to slam Capitol for allegedly making the province like a “bukong nga nag-utaw-utaw sa kadagatan” (coconut husk floating at sea).
“Hain naman kita karon? Diin man kita gihatud sa mga pagsulay? “Now I ask you, has Cebu prospered? After all those nine years I served you. From number one, from a respected nga model province sa ubang mga probinsya. Gikan sa gihangad, karon gipangita na kita sa sawog,” Garcia said.
She said the present administration’s alleged lack of direction has led Cebu to its purported downfall.
She said that when she was governor, she visited the towns including Bantayan Island many times in one year, unlike Davide who reportedly did not show up in Bantayan after typhoon Yolanda struck.
“Nitubag ba dayon ang gobernador human sa bagyong Yolanda?” she asked.
She recalled her administration’s effort to stop the so-called “Sugbuak,” a term used to refer to proposals to divide Cebu into four provinces. She said they succeeded because all 44 mayors and seven cities were united and lobbied before the Congress to deny those proposals filed by Cebu congressmen.
“It’s our responsibility as Cebuanos tht this province of ours shall unite again for a leadership that is true and credible,” she said.
One Cebu’s candidate for governor in 2013, Gwen’s other brother, Pablo John, lost to Davide. Pablo John will be running for congressmen in the newly created seventh district. (FREEMAN)