Monday, July 26, 2004
Maambong proposes code to set policy for Capitol ventures
By JEANETTE P. MALINAO
Sun.Star Staff Reporter
PROVINCIAL Board (PB) Member Victor Maambong is proposing that a Code of Economic Enterprises be enacted for the Cebu Provincial Government and its component towns and cities.
The legislation, according to Maambong, will wean local government units (LGUs) away from their perennial dependence on regular allotments and doleouts from the National Government.
It will also “showcase the success” of the Cebu South Bus Terminal, an economic enterprise of the Capitol that is earning for the Province and has “zero debt.”
“Always, the basic source of revenue of the cities and municipalities is its regular share of the Internal Revenue Allotment. If we immerse ourselves in that cycle continuously, we’ll wake up one day and find that the needs are far more than the resources,” said Maambong in an interview with Sun.Star.
Cebu’s future
Of most local government units in the country, the PB member added, Cebu is blessed with immense real property and human resources that the Province could tap.
“Economic enterprises should be the future of local governments, without sacrificing the mandate of the people. And we must professionalize and make standard this policy,” Maambong said.
If the board approves his initiative, an Economic Enterprises Council of the Province will be created to oversee Capitol’s businesses.
The council will then be tasked to formulate policies regarding the operation of existing and future economic enterprises of the Capitol.
“We must tell the Cebuanos that there is a new paradigm shift in governance. The National Government is bankrupt. There is hope but the tunnel is very long,” said the PB member in a telephone interview.
He pointed out that the local governments’ share of the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) has always been sacrificed by the National Government despite the law that says it must be automatically given to them.
IRA share
During the time of former president Corazon Aquino, the release of the LGUs’ IRA share was often delayed. When Fidel Ramos was president, it was slashed. Former president Joseph Estrada, for his part, made a scheme for LGUs to “borrow” from their share.
Maambong is an ally of Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia, who projects economic enterprises for the Capitol to show Manila and the country that “we can take care of our own, and we will.”
She will implement a “major policy shift” in the way district hospitals are being run, so these will not continue to be “bleeding” Capitol’s resources by giving medicines and services for free.
Garcia believes that giving health insurance to the poor will make district hospitals earn, at the same time giving free services to indigents.
She also envisions putting up other economic enterprises such as the proposed farmers’ center and the planned “world-class” facility to house trade exhibits and other economic activities.
(July 26, 2004 issue)
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