Saturday, December 23, 2006 Summit, revenue ‘blessings’
AFTER being chosen as the host of the Asean Summit and exceeding tax collection targets this year, Cebuanos have a lot to be thankful for this Christmas, Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña said.
Osmeña counted the summit, the recognition of the City’s programs for women and children and tourism-related developments as among the year’s highlights.
“Cebu continues to be blessed by the Sto. Niño and because of this, we are able to weather any storm. I feel this is a good time to renew our faith in the Almighty and in our city. Merry Christmas, our beloved Cebuanos and we look forward to being second to none,” he said yesterday.
Vice Mayor Michael Rama also urged the Cebuanos to make Christmas a time of thanksgiving and sharing despite economic difficulties.
The mayor is optimistic the new year will bring more opportunities for Cebu, especially with two big investments by large foreign companies.
Michael Gleissner, owner of Bigfoot Global Solutions, will start to bring in new technology in filmmaking that will make Cebu the movie capital of the Philippines, he said.
Lexmark will also put up a P2-billion research facility in Cebu City.
In tourism, the number of international flights and hotels in Cebu continues to increase while the city remains spared from bombings and other terrorist attacks.
“There are many things we should be grateful about. We have been chosen as the Asean Summit venue and this is a result of their perception that Cebu is the best place in the Philippines,” said Osmeña.
In preparation for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Summit on Jan. 10 to 15, he also asked the Sto. Niño to spare Cebu from any weather disturbance.
“There’s no doubt in my mind that we will continue to move ahead in spite of the noise and the cacophony that we hear from local and national media. I’m looking forward to seeing our city achieve a higher level of self-reliance in the future,” the mayor added. (LCR)
