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Saturday, July 15, 2006
Cebu Capitol: debt-free, P2 billion cash
By Jeanette P. Malinao
CEBU CITY -- Cebu Province remains debt-free and its fiscal status is getting stronger, Governor Gwendolyn Garcia announced Friday night.
She also said that in the past 100 weeks, her administration has restored the people's faith in the government.
In her State of the Province Address, the governor reported a 12 percent increase in income as of December last year, amounting to P1.236 billion.
Capitol also has P11.4 billion worth of assets, P7 billion of which consist of real estate in Cebu City, and P2 billion in cash. She also said that with the recovery of a total of 84.3 hectares this year, the Capitol's total assets will increase by no less than P16 billion this year.
"But more than these numbers...I believe that the first task of governance is to give our people a reason to hope that something is being done, hope for things to come, hope that this government is for them," she told an audience of leaders from the business sector, non-government organizations, local government units and National Government agencies, among others.
"I believe our greatest achievement in the past 100 weeks has been to dispel clouds of cynicism, to restore a waning faith in government, to cause our great people to believe again, to have faith again, to hope again," she also said.
In implementing her 12-point agenda, the governor cited the insurance for indigent families and front liners in government such as barangay officials, health and day care workers.
Hospitals
The Provincial Government also came up with agricultural programs for the farmers such as corn, banana, and jackfruit dispersal.
It also started the Cebu International Convention Center for business and international events and exhibits and the Cebu Women's Center.
At least 300 kilometers of roads were paved and bailey bridges were converted into concrete ones. Police stations were also improved.
She also cited electrification projects, classrooms and computers for schools; water for households, especially in Bantayan Island, and district hospitals that have been turned from "bleeding" institutions into financially viable ones.
"Because of the reforms we have instituted in our health services, the private sector has changed its view of government and its capacity to run an enterprise efficiently," she said, citing Tsuneishi Industries' pledge of P25 million to build a provincial hospital in Balamban town.
Garcia also highlighted the unity that she has forged with Vice Gov. Gregorio Sanchez Jr. and majority of the Cebu Provincial Board and mayors of most component towns and cities.
Camp recovery
Her first address, she said, was made at a "time of deep division and political tensions threatened the prospect of real governance."
Now, things have changed.
Beyond the 12-point agenda and the conventional thrusts of administration, however, Garcia mentioned the Province's success in convincing the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to return all 80 hectares of prime commercial property that is now the Camp Lapu-lapu.
This will mean transferring the military camp to another venue and initial talks is that it will be in a National Government-owned lot.
Defense Secretary Avelino Cruz, in an interview with Sun.Star Cebu during Arroyo's last visit here, said he agrees that it is illogical to have a military camp in the middle of a bustling city where they could not even hold military drills.
The issue was a drawn-out battle between the Capitol and the AFP, which started negotiations with the previous administration and even went to court.
Garcia also talked about the bidding for the development of an idle lot in Banilad, which will be used for a P1.8-billion mixed-use establishment.
Land
The development will raise the Capitol's assets by P1.8 billion, as the edifice will be turned over to the Capitol along with rental of at least P1 million a month.
Garcia said she will recover and will no longer donate or sell any property, as these will used for revenue-generating purposes.
She announced that she has made moves to recover and made agreements for the recovery of 1.5 hectares of prime property now occupied by the National Irrigation Administration, the National Food Authority, the Department of Science and Technology, the Cebu Medical Society, the Population Commission and the Philippine Nurses Association.
That is aside from the 1.9 hectares of provincial property that the Technical Education and Skills Authority agreed to vacate.
"I consider this my duty to the people who put me here, and a legacy to all Cebuanos, living and yet unborn," she said.
"In the next 50 weeks, much remains to be done. But we will always have hope. For in the little more than 100 weeks that have passed, by God's grace, we have proven that it can be done," the governor said. (Sun.Star Cebu)
(July 15, 2006 issue)
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