CEBU CITY, Philippines—What do candidates for both local and national posts have in store for Cebu and the Cebuanos?
The answer to this question will be known starting March 11 when “Klarohay ta,” a series of fora involving local and national candidates, starts running at the downtown campus of the University of San Carlos (USC). It will be held every Mondays and Fridays until April 29.
Eight senatorial candidates will be invited to every “Klarohay ta” forum on March 11, 15, 18, 25 and 27. The forum on March 22 is dedicated for partylist candidates that are inclined in urban development projects and based in Central Visayas.
Meanwhile, the candidates’ fora for local bets are slated on April 1, 3, 5, 8, 10, 22, 24, 26, and 29.
“Klarohay ta” is organized by the Metro Cebu Development and Coordinating Board (MCDCB) with the support of the USC Department of Political Science, Commission on Elections (Comelec) in Cebu Province, and the Central Visayas Network of Non-Government Organizations (Cenvisnet).
Evelyn Castro, director of the MCDCB Research, Program, and Organizational Development Program Management Office (RPOD-PMO), said the candidates’ forum will be a venue for the candidates to give their insights for Cebu’s progress particularly in terms of urban development.
“We will know what their responses will be in relation to the roadmap (Roadmap Study for Sustainable Urban Development in Metro Cebu) and recommendations to the plans that Mega Cebu has, noting that these plans were generated from consultative processes,” Castro said during the 888 News Forum on Tuesday, February 26, 2019.
Cenvisnet, for its part, is in charge of bringing in multi-sectoral participation in the Klarohay ta in order to maximize the reach the concerns of different sectors.
“We are looking forward for an inclusive forum nga hasta ang mga grassroots nga sector maapil sa pagklarohay nato. Klarohon nato kung unsa gyod ang agenda sa atong mga kandidato,” said Lenbie Laborte, Cenvisnet’s representative during the news forum. /bmjo