Saturday, April 21, 2007 Sugbuak goes further: Camotes province urged
IF CERTAIN congressional aspirants are elected, Camotes Island will become a province and there will be more hospitals in Cebu.
Former Compostela mayor Gilbert Wagas, Provincial Board (PB) Member Gabriel Luis Quisum-bing and former vice governor Enrique Rama are running for Congress against incumbents and promised to implement projects they feel should be done to improve their respective districts.
They were guests in yesterday’s Kapamilya Media Forum of ABS-CBN at the entertainment center of SM City mall.
Wagas said Camotes Island should be made into a separate province, saying it has been isolated from the fifth district, where he is running against incumbent Rep. Red Durano.
Quisumbing promised to build the Cebu Provincial Children’s Hospital on the controversial lot in Mandaue City that became the reason for the falling-out between his family and the City Government.
Rama, who is running against Rep. Eduardo Gullas, vowed to build a hospital in the first district.
Wagas said the creation of Camotes Island into a province will provide it with more funds for development.
He is confident his plan will push through, saying Reps. Antonio Yapha (Cebu, 3rd district) and Clavel Asas-Martinez (Cebu, 4th district) will win as governor and vice governor, respectively.
Yapha and Martinez have filed bills creating
Occidental Cebu and Cebu del Norte.
Wagas promised to let his constituents decide what should be done with the Priority Development Assistance Fund.
He said he will let mayors use the funds to implement projects as long as these are for education, health and livelihood.
For his part, Quisum-bing said he will help fund the construction of a hospital for children.
He said he filed an ordinance at the PB creating the hospital but it was not approved.
If his candidates for board member win, they will revive the ordinance.
Qisumbing, who is running against incumbent Rep. Nerissa Soon-Ruiz of the sixth district, said he will also push for the construction of a rehabilitation center for drug users.
Quisumbing said he chose the property in Mandaue to be the site of the children’s hospital because it compliments the Mandaue City Hospital located nearby.
He said the hospital will be a “symbol of hope.”
Quisumbing, however, could not provide a cost estimates for the hospital, saying the prices of construction materials and medical equipment fluctuate.
He denied allegations that his candidacy aims to protect the business interests of his family.
Aside from building a hospital, Rama also aims to create a commission for the rural poor and allow many to avail themselves of housing loans.
Rama, a practicing lawyer, also promised to have properties titled after observing that many lots are not properly surveyed.
If he wins, he said he will be constantly in touch with barangay captains by attending their meetings via teleconference. (AAG)
