Sunday, June 29, 2008 Former Lapu-Lapu official hits plan to recover expenses
A FORMER Lapu-Lapu City official expressed opposition to the plan of the Cebu Provincial Board (PB) to ask Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia to recover Capitol expenses in the construction of two hospitals in the city worth between P32 million to P37 million.
Former Lapu-Lapu City assessor Dionisio Cuizon said the hospitals referred to by the PB are the Opon District Hospital and the Sta. Rosa Community Hospital in Olango Island. These were turned over by Capitol to Lapu-Lapu City, shortly after it became a highly-urbanized city.
Priority projects
The PB reportedly wanted to recover the amount to “fund priority projects of the Province that are for the benefit of the residents.”
But Cuizon said the city and its residents appear to have been penalized for voting to be independent of the Province.
Cuizon said the PB only had financial considerations in mind when it decided to recover the money. The board, he said, did not dig deeper into the issue.
The PB failed to realize that “there are other matters to be considered (that) may negate morally its claim for refund, and this has something to do with service,” he said.
Cuizon said Lapu-Lapu City has major industrial and commercial establishments within its jurisdiction, including the Philippine Economic Zone (PEZA), which employs 50,000 workers, the Mactan Cebu International Airport, hotels, resorts and other huge companies.
He said that before these establishments opened, Lapu-Lapu City’s population was only between 30,000 to 40,000.
The latest population count showed that the city already has 292,000 residents.
“Surely, the huge increase of its population did not come from within itself but from the exodus of people coming from all over the country,” said Cuizon.
He said residents of the Province, especially the farmers from various towns, sell agricultural products in the city. He said Lapu-Lapu City is also providing livelihood to people from the Province.
Benefits
“Naturally, these individuals also regularly avail of the various government services that are being extended within the territorial jurisdiction of Lapu-Lapu City,” he said.
“In effect, the Province of Cebu is also directly reaping the benefits of the presence of the two hospitals and the change in the status of Lapu-Lapu City from a component city into a highly urbanized does not alter the fact,” said Cuizon.
He said that instead of trying to outdo each other, the Lapu-Lapu City Government and Capitol should “extend mutual respect and consideration.” (GMD)
