Cebu governor Hilario Davide III delivering his State of the Province (SOPA) address before the provincial board headed by vice governor Agnes Magpale, Municipal and City mayors and representatives of Regional government offices at the Capitol session hall at the Legislative building. (CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA)
Cebu province did more than survive three crisis, said Gov. Hilario Davide III, citing typhoon Yolanda, an earthquake and ship collision as the big test for his administration’s first year.
The unexpected disasters in 2013 showed Cebu as a national model for “resilience” and proved the “effective performance of a rookie administration” behind the efforts, he said yesterday.
Davide gave his first state of the province address (SOPA), which he chose to call a “Year One Report to the People”.
He said P231 million in financial aid was given directly to barangays and towns for their own projects, but more hard work was ahead to “reach out to the countryside” to uplift the lives of rural Cebuanos.
Davide said net revenues of the province have “doubled from 2013 levels” due to better tax collection, while he cited early gains that focused on better services for health, agriculture and honest governance, rather than big-ticket infrastructure.
“We have restored the people’s faith in pubilc service through good governance,” he said.
With its healthy financial standing, Davide said the Cebu provincial government can now pursue more of its programs and projects, including the Trans Axial Highway running through the middle of the island, and a third bridge between Mactan and Cebu, which are under study as private investments.
Davide asked Capitol legislators to allocate P1 million as aid for each town and city next year for the revived Farmer-Scientist Training Program to increase farm yields, a program his uncle Dr. Romulo Davide pioneered.
Unlike previous SOPAs which former governor Gwen Garcia held in the chandelier-lit Social Hall with the diplomatic corps and special guests invited, Davide addressed members of the provincial legislature in their chamber, with half of Cebu’s 44 town mayors, mostly Liberal Party allies, mingling with provincial employees in the hall.
His 40-minute speech, a solemn run-through of accomplishments and thank-you’s, received a standing ovation at the end.
Davide was elected on a platform of honest governance and promised an agenda of “inclusive, more balanced growth” that would benefit the poor.
He announced yesterday that “not a single centavo more will be spent” to repair or rebuild a “graft-tainted Cebu International Convention Center” or to let the Balili Estate in Naga city, a P100-million purchase of the province in 2008, be used as a dumping ground of coal ash.
Both projects of the Garcia administration are the subject of graft cases in the Sandiganbayan or the Ombudman’s Office.
Trying times
Davide in his speech first highlighted unexpected but positive results in the “2013 triple whammy” that hit Cebu – two ships colliding off Talisay City, Cebu in August, the October earthquake and super typhoon Yolanda in November.
With strong partners in volunteers, civil society and foreign donors which mounted massive relief and aid, he said, “we never wavered in our belief that we can survive, and not just survive but be beter that we were before.”
Looking ahead, he said the P12.2 billion rehabilitation plan for north Cebu pending in Malacanang was a “work in progress”.
He quoted Margareta Walhstrom, the United Nation’s Special Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction, who said “Manila could also adopt some best practices by model local governments like Albay and Cebu” in terms of disaster preparedness.
“With humility, this is a Grand Slam statement – a shining testament to the resiliency of the Cebuanos and effective perfomance of a rookie administration providing the enabling environment,” Davide said, while thanking the private sector for their support in post-Yolanda recovery.
REFORMS
In the fight against graft, Davide cited reforms introduced in the procurement process of the the Bids and Awards Committee (BAC).
Davide said the Capitol was able to save on its purchases for medicine, fuel, schoolbooks and others.
Instead of buying schoolbooks for P15 million, he said, a close review cut the procurement cost by P10 million.
Davide admitted that the “journey of reforms in procurement has definitely not been easy.”
He cited the recent controversy surrounding the temporary services of Black Pearl Security Agency, a bidder for the Capitol’s P37-million security services contract, which was later disqualified.
“I have learned my lesson in the recent security agency issue. The evaluation system is yet a work-in-progress and subject to closer scrutiny and inquiry – both from within and from you- the public and media in particular,” he said.
Davide did not claim sole credit for improvements achieved by his administration.
All credit, he said, goes to “us.”
“This journey to make our Cebu better is not about me, it is not about you. It is about us. It is about working together, doing our share in building a prosperous community for the present and future generations,” said Davide.
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