Marañon to Alvarez: Shame on him
-A A +ATuesday, October 23, 2012
“SHAME on him,” Governor Alfredo Marañon Jr. said on Monday, following an earlier statement of Vice Governor Genaro Alvarez saying that Marañon copied his program.
The exchange of words between Marañon and Alvarez started from the issue on the pending approval by the Provincial Board of the P180-million supplemental budget for the P170 million of the Negros First Cybercenter Phase 2.
The latest verbal fight is about the Negros Occidental Comprehensive Health Program (NOCHP) and how the CyberCenter is going to be utilized upon completion.
“NOCHP was already established since the administration of Governor Joseph Marañon. It was conceptualized at that time,” Marañon said.
The NOCPH was not patterned after that of the Sixth District, said Marañon, adding Alvarez should “show us some proof.”
Marañon reiterated that NOCHP is institutionalized.
He said: “We patterned some parts of the program from La Union and Bukidnon. But not in the 6th District.”
“They can ask people from NOCHP. They can testify,” the governor said.
As to the claims of Alvarez that he will turn the CyberCentre into a student’s dormitory once he assumes the governor’s seat next year, Marañon said, “The Negros First CyberCentre is not constructed to be used as a dormitory.”
He said he is planning to turn the available rooms in the Pagla-um Sports Stadium into a dormitory in the future, however, right now, they are still being used as classrooms by the Negros Occidental High School (NOHS).
He said the CyberCentre is meant for the information and communications technology (ICT), adding if it is fully functional, it could generate 12,000 jobs particularly in Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) in the next four years.
“The facility will have 5,000 direct Business Process Outsourcing jobs and 15,000 indirect jobs from the support services,” Marañon said.
He added many commercial establishments are showing interest in renting a space.
Marañon said politics is the reason for the delay on the approval of his request.
He said the Provincial Board needs to approve the loan now.
Marañon and Vice Governor Genaro Alvarez are both running for the top post in the province in the 2013 polls. (Teresa D. Ellera)
Published in the Sun.Star Bacolod newspaper on October 23, 2012.
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