Post-election concerns

By Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc.
May 31, 2013

CEBU CITY – Now that elected officials are already proclaimed, Filipinos await the fulfillment of these winners' promises of good governance, sustainable growth and development, and a better quality of life, among others, in the next three years.

“After the elections, we need to stop talking and start working. Our transparent service to the public is our payback to the trust people gave us. Nothing is impossible if there is unity among the stakeholders,” Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes said, during the May 25 episode of Pagtuki, the official radio program of Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. (RAFI).

Collaboration, Cortes said, between the executive and legislative departments will result to more projects and programs for the barangays.

The Mandaue local government is currently addressing issues in the areas of education, housing, infrastructure, and traffic.

“We all know that many schools lack classrooms. We need to draft solutions on how to address this growing concern. In solid waste management, it is everybody’s concern. These issues should not be left alone to the leaders but to all of us,” he said.

Cortes also pointed out the need for a province-wide, multi-sectoral collaboration through the Mega Cebu project. He said that what the project started should be nurtured and continued.

“Mandaue City cannot address alone the problem on drainage and traffic. Sooner or later, the problem of one city will be a problem of other cities in the future. Thus, we need to have a unified development plan,” he stressed.

“People have spoken loud and clear. It is now time to set aside politics. We should consider ourselves as part of the problem and the solution,” he added.

Evelyn Nacario-Castro, executive director of RAFI Eduardo Aboitiz Development Studies Center (EADSC), said that RAFI is ready to work with whoever is installed in the office.

“We are encouraging local leaders to pass a resolution for Mega Cebu project, and at the same time to review their respective local visions and how they can align their visions to the bigger vision of the Mega Cebu project that is seen to benefit not only the Metro Cebu area but the entire province of Cebu,” Castro noted.

She hopes to get active participation and support from the different local governments to achieve the aims of the Mega Cebu.

“We are encouraging the newly-elected and the freshly mandated officials to take leadership role in the project. We need to take actions to realize the 2050 vision of the Mega Cebu project,” she said.