CEBU Gov. Hilario Davide III has appointed Cebu South Bus Terminal (CSBT) Manager Joey Herrera to temporarily oversee the operations and administration of Larsian, the province-owned food complex, following the retirement of former administrator Carmen Quijano.
Herrera’s appointment will take effect today, Tuesday, until the Cebu provincial government will designate someone to fill in the place left by Quijano, who had been Larsian’s administrator since 2013.
“(Yes, I have assigned Mr. Herrera) as the administrator for Larsian. But that’s only temporary. And he will still be the head administrator for CSBT,” said Davide.
Herrera, for his part, said he will prioritize solving issues on sanitation and lack of parking space as part of his plans to renovate and rehabilitate the food complex.
“Probably in ten days’ time, I will gather all vendors and stall owners in Larsian to listen to their concerns. That’s what we’ll do first in order to solve issues on sanitary. And also parking areas,” said Herrera.
During last Friday’s budget hearing with the Provincial Board (PB) Committee on Budget and Appropriations, Herrera proposed a P2-million budget to renovate Larsian which will cover the improvement of water supply and the construction of additional water tanks, sturdy stalls and safer comfort rooms.
“These are the most common problems in Larsian. Water supply only runs for three hours (from 3 a.m. to 6 a.m.). There should be water running to wash utensils and to clean comfort rooms,” Herrera added.
The acting administrator also plans to open two additional entry points to Larsian as means to control the crowd flocking there, especially during Sinulog.
Herrera is also seeking the help of Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña to expedite health inspections and review health and business permits of the vendors in the food complex, which is famous for grilling all types of food — from pork to seafood, served with puso (hanging rice). To address the lack of parking space, Herrera wants to acquire a nearby vacant lot.
But renovations may also mean closing all the stalls.
“That’s really possible. Sacrifice for rehab and renovation. This is also part of our agenda — to let them understand why it is important to sacrifice a little, probably at least two months, for the benefit of everyone,” he explained. with reports from Morexette Marie B. Erram)