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Wednesday, December 28, 2005
Ouano-Soon truce ‘good for Asean legwork’
The reconciliation of warring political leaders in Cebu’s sixth district is a welcome development considering that Cebu will be busy preparing for the Asean summit next year, said Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia.
Mandaue City, which is part the sixth district, will be the venue of the planned Cebu International Convention Center (CICC), formerly called the megadome project.
Unity is needed to finish the undertaking, said Garcia, who will call for a meeting so the center’s design will be finished.
After more than a decade of squabbles, Mandaue City Mayor Thadeo Ouano and Rep. Nerissa Soon-Ruiz ended their differences and met with their families in a resort in Lapu-Lapu City last Dec. 23.
Both camps refused to comment on speculations that the meeting will eventually lead to a union of their political forces, but Soon-Ruiz admitted that the affair mended the close ties between the two families.
It was also political differences that blocked the P250-million megadome project, which is meant to accommodate international conventions, sports and other events.
“We need their unity for the biggest challenge we are facing, the need for the CICC in Mandaue in time for the Asean.
I call for a united, cooperative and collaborative effort of our leaders in the sixth district and the whole province,” Garcia said.
In a change of heart, Congresswoman Soon-Ruiz is not just supporting the construction of a convention center in Mandaue, but is even willing to allocate part of her congressional project funds for it. (Story in Metro, A12)
The detailed engineering for the CICC is 80 percent finished.
The original design for the megadome needed to be changed because of time constraints. The megadome was designed to accommodate various events, while the focus of the Province right now is to build the convention center.
The Capitol has yet to come up with a timetable for the whole undertaking, which will start in January.
The governor will ask the Provincial Board for an authority to enter into a contract for the engineering design, so they can proceed with invitations for the bidding. (JPM)
(December 28, 2005 issue)
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