Tuesday, November 07, 2006 Editorials: President’s reminder
It’s but a matter of perspective, actually.
On the issue of whether the Cebu International Convention Center (CICC) will be used during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summit in December or not, National Government officials can be cavalier about the matter.
It’s not that what President Arroyo said—that her priority is not the venue but the initiatives that she will push for during the Asean summit in December—is the first admonition for Cebuanos to consider the bigger picture.
Ambassador Marciano Paynor, the summit national organizing committee head, raises virtually the same point every time he is asked about the activity’s preparation.
Legitimate concerns
Indeed, for national officials taking the macro view, it won’t matter whether the construction of the CICC will be finished or not by Nov. 15 considering that other venues, like Shangri-La in Mactan, are available in Cebu.
But local people view the matter differently, and not necessarily for parochial and therefore narrow reasons.
While politics may have contributed something to the blowing up of the CICC issue, considering that the construction of the facility is a pet project of Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia, concerns about its timely completion are legitimate.
Pride, effort
For one, there’s local pride.
It would surely be a turn-off if, after all the noise about the CICC (didn’t the President include the facility’s construction in her State of the Nation Address?), not one Asean foreign minister will actually step foot on it.
More importantly, there are efforts and costs.
Workers have been toiling at the construction site for 24 hours even as contractors and Capitol representatives have been pouring extra effort to meet completion targets and parry criticisms and the usual pessimism on the issue.
Project cost
And the effort is surely not without its effect on the project cost, with Vice Gov. Gregorio Sanchez already talking about the possibility that it may already go beyond the original amount pegged at P450 million.
Consider, too, that the shift in the concept from the proposed megadome to the CICC, touted as the main venue of the Asean summit, is the reason opposition to the project vanished.
National officials cannot therefore stop Cebuanos from worrying about the use or non-use of the CICC for the Asean summit.
