COLLABORATION with the government and the private sector must be prioritized for cities to become livable and competitive.
Gordon Alan Joseph, chairman of the executive committee of the Metro Cebu Development and Coordinating Board (MCDCB), said close planning and execution by the local government units (LGUs) are vital for a city to overcome its current degradation caused by both natural and man-made disasters.
“Competitive and livable cities are attracting the bulk of foreign investments and high quality of people to live in these cities,” Joseph said during the second day of the Benita and Catalino Yap Foundation Philippine Innovation Month online forum.
Joseph, who is also the Regional Infrastructure Development Committee chairman of the Regional Development Council 7, said 74 percent of Cebu is exposed to natural catastrophes.
MCDCB is a coordinating body for metro-wide planning and development created on April 1, 2011 through a Memorandum of Agreement signed by local government executives, heads of national government agencies and leaders of the private – civil society sector.
“Earthquakes, landslides, floodings, name it, typhoons and now the pandemic. This statistic which came out of the Roadmap for Sustainable Development of Cebu back in 2015, a roadmap prepared by international experts, has been largely ignored or once again, only lip service has been made to these problems and the corresponding solutions,” he said.
Joseph said innovation is great; however, there is a problem of getting innovation implemented and executed correctly, not only in Cebu but in the rest of the country.
He cited the challenges that everyone faces today in Cebu like increasing volume of waste pollution, increasing water demand but limited supply, increased frequency in flooding and worsening traffic congestion.
“In the early ‘90s, there were nine places in Cebu City that were flooded. Today there are over 140,” he said.
Joseph said to get things done, there should be one direction, effort and voice in the private sector and the government. (JOB)