Mandaue City Mayor-elect Jonas Cortes. / CDN File Photo
MANDAUE CITY, Philippines – Revenue generation tops the list of things that Mandaue City Mayor-elect Jonas Cortes wanted to prioritize during his first 100 days in office.
“Una sa tanan ang pag check gyud sa revenue sa Dakbayan sa Mandaue. You know, you cannot spend something which you do not have. Before serving the people we need to have enough, sufficient funds, pundo sa Dakbayan sa Mandaue. Atong pangita-an nga duna gyud tay igong pundo aron maka serbisyo ta sa atong pinangang dakbayan,” he said in an interview with reporters earlier today, June 28.
(First of all, we have to check on Mandaue City’s revenues. You know, you cannot spend something which you do not have. Before serving the people we need to have enough, sufficient funds, money for Mandaue City. We have to find means to make sure that we have enough funding to spend on the delivery of services for our beloved City.)
Read More: Mandaue City coffers left with P3.4B – Fortuna
Cortes said there are a lot of programs and projects that he wanted to implement during his three-year term.
But one of the city’s most pressing concerns now is the plight of the around 500 families that were left homeless by the fire that hit Sitios Basubas, Espina and Maharlika in Barangay Tipolo, Thursday dawn.
Even before he could formally assume the office of the mayor on June 30, Cortes said he is already faced with a big responsibility to take care of these fire victims.
“We have to stop talking and start working kay daku kaayo ang atong atubangon nga problema. Ang Mandaue dili man ni ako. Ang Mandaue dili man ni ila kun dili ato ning tanan so nanginahanglan gyud ko sa tabang sa matag Mandaehanon,” he said.
(We have to stop talking and start working because we have a very big problem ahead of us. I do not own Mandaue City. They do not even own the City, instead this belongs to all of us that is why I would be needing the help of all Mandauehanons.)
Read More: Cortes orders filling, reblocking of Tipolo fire site
While he find means to bring the Tipolo fire victims back home and improve their living condition, he also wanted to pursue a disaster preparedness program, which he started before he left City Hall in 2016, which is to set up Bantay Mandaue headquarters in four quadrants of the city.
Cortes said that each of the Bantay Mandaue headquarters will be equip with a firetruck and an ambulance to bring emergency responders closer to city residents.
But the first headquarter which he set up in Barangay Subangdaku was never put to use, he said.
“Ang plano man gud nako sa akong panahon kaniadto nga mag tukod gyud ta ug Bantay Mandaue sa four quadrants sa Dakbayan sa Mandaue. Usa na ang Subangdaku unya up until now wala pa gyud ma gamit. Sayang kaayo ang building nga unta we could have assigned a firetruck, ambulance didto nga area para ug dunay sunog ang response time madali. So kani amo ning pangitaan ug solution,” Cortes added.
(During my previous term as city mayor, I thought of setting up Bantay Mandaue headquarters in the four quadrants of the City. The one in Subangdaku was never put to use. We could have assigned a firetruck, ambulance in the area to ensure immediate response in case of emergencies. We will find a solution to this concern.)