Friday, December 01, 2006 Appreciate beauty: Davide
CEBU’s beautification should be appreciated and not criticized, said former Supreme Court chief justice Hilario Davide Jr.
Gripes over expenses incurred for the beautification of three cities in Cebu in preparation for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summit should be set aside and they should anticipate gains instead, he said.
“Is there anything wrong with beautifying? As a matter of fact, it will create a certain kind of beginning for us to love what is beautiful,” Davide told reporters yesterday.
“What we have spent may probably be only a small portion compared with the benefits that we are going to derive,” he also said.
The National Government set aside P2 billion for the Asean summit, while the Cebu Provincial Government allocated P515 million for the Cebu International Convention Center (CICC) where summit meetings will be held.
The cities of Cebu, Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu also spent for sprucing their own areas.
Party-list group Bayan Muna has described the CICC as “overpriced” and “Imeldific.”
Other militant groups said the money spent for the beautification projects could have been used to improve the lives of the poor.
“That is a judgment made by the local government units, but we should not consider the expense at all, we should consider the benefits that will come to us after this initial seed money of expenditure,” Davide also said.
The gains, he said, are through economic development, prosperity, solidarity and peace.
“I am really very proud to be a Cebuano to have this Asean summit done in Cebu,” Davide noted. “It’s a recognition of the Cebuanos and Cebu itself.”
Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia appreciated the former chief justice’s “encouraging words.”
“Spoken like a true Cebuano who loves Cebu and wants only what is best for Cebu,” the governor said.
Garcia said Davide’s statement will certainly boost the morale of those working hard for Cebu to deliver.
“It is really a source of strength in these most challenging times and for those of us who have stretched ourselves beyond the limits of human endurance in order that we may make the country proud, because Cebu will deliver as promised,” she added.
For the first time, Cebu is hosting the Asean summit from Dec. 10 to 14. (JGA/Malou Inocando-Tabar, Correspondent)
