ENVIRONMENTAL laws, improved health services and the opening of the Cebu City College and the emergency hotline 911 are on top of the to-do list of city councilors who are on their last term in office.

With barely a year left in the Cebu City Council, four of the five last-term councilors are optimistic they can still contribute a lot to the City Government.

For updates from around the country, follow Sun.Star on Twitter

Councilor Nestor Archival said he hopes to finalize the Cebu City Environment Code, which will consolidate all environment-related measures previously passed by the council.

He is also working on an ordinance on a “Green Cebu City” that will entice owners of all vacant lots and open spaces in the city to plant trees, shrubs and other plants on their properties.

Archival, chairman of the council’s committee on environment, said he will closely work with eight more barangays that want to implement waste segregation and composting projects.

“I think I can say that environment programs and projects will be the legacy I will leave when my term ends. This has always been my advocacy, and on my last year, I want to show everyone that some things can be done, if magtinabangay lang gyud ta ug trabahoon lang gyud nato,” he told Sun.Star Cebu.

Councilors Archival, Sylvan Jakosalem, Christopher Alix and Gerardo Carillo said they all intend to make the most of the final year of their last term, and to continue the programs they started in 2001.

Carillo said he wants to have his ordinance on the creation of the Cebu City College approved before July 2010, as well as the measure granting loans to students.

“I hope we can implement this so we can address the concerns of our constituents on the rising cost of education... It would be a great opportunity to serve them by helping them finish college, find jobs and contribute to the community,” he said.

Citing statistics from the Commission on Higher Education, Carillo said that out of 10 students enrolled in elementary, only one is able to finish a college degree. This, he said, “is the situation in Cebu City’s mountain barangays.”

The Cebu City Disaster Coordinating Council, where he is the action officer, is also working on the 911 hotline, which will respond to emergencies in the city.

Fix

For his part, Jakosalem said he wants to bring other sports activities in the barangays and sitios, after the success of the dancesport lessons in the villages.

As member of the City Traffic Operations Management (Citom) board, he also intends to initiate changes in the office and address emerging traffic management problems.

“We have to fix Citom, that’s where a lot of things have to be done. People have been frustrated with Citom, particularly on the lack of traffic personnel, so we have to work on that,” said Jakosalem, also the chairman of the City Council’s committee on sports and committee on transportation.

Just because they are on their last term and could not seek reelection does not mean they would lie low in delivering service, Alix said.

As chairman of the committee on health and hospital services, he said he will continue to improve health services at the City Health Department and the Cebu City Medical Center, despite the meager resources of the facilities.