One Cebu mayoral candidates Christina Garcia-Frasco (right) of Liloan town and Mike Enriquez (center) of Danao City share their development agenda at a candidates’ forum organized by Mega Cebu Development and Coordinating Board. Bakud candidates were a no-show. (CDN Photo/Junjie Mendoza)
Mayoral bets of Liloan and Danao City yesterday vowed to protect the environment while sustaining economic progress should they be elected this year.
Lawyer Christina Garcia-Frasco, a mayoral candidate of Liloan under the Garcia-led One Cebu party, said proper zoning through a Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP) is needed to protect watersheds in the district, particularly in her town.
“We have already identified specific light industrial areas where we will concentrate our industries to make sure that the area in Cotcot does not suffer from pollution due to unregulated development,” she said during the second leg of the Mega Decisions 2016 Forum at the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc.-Eduardo Aboitiz Development Studies Center (RAFI-EADSC) yesterday.
Also present was Danao City mayoral candidate Michael Enriquez, who is running under One Cebu as well.
Forum organizer Mega Cebu Development and Coordinating Board sent invitations to fifth district congressional candidates and all bets from Liloan, Compostela, and Danao City, but only two confirmed.
The others either begged off due to conflicts in schedule or did not respond to invitations at all, organizers said.
Frasco, wife of incumbent Liloan Mayor Duke Frasco and daughter of former governor and now Rep. Gwendolyn Garcia, said she will prioritize setting up economic zones in Barangay Tayud and portions of Barangays Jubay and Catarman if elected.
She said these economic zones will decongest the town center, generate more jobs, and attract more investors.
There were proposals under the Mega Cebu initiative to build a dam at the Cotcot watershed area.
According to preliminary studies, it can produce up to 50,000 cubic meters of water a day.
The Cotcot river basin drains to the towns of Liloan and Compostela in northern Cebu.
At five percent annually, Liloan has one of the highest population growth rates in the entire province of Cebu.
Frasco said Liloan is at the forefront of environmental protection in line with development.
She said development will be regulated in the town while the municipal government will continue to support the Purok System.
“It is through this system that in the grassroots we are able to educate and empower our communities to protect the environment,” Frasco said.
With real estate and development projects extending to Liloan and Danao City, Frasco also intends to continue implementing a local ordinance regulating new developments.
She said the town already has 58 subdivisions and they welcome more, but it’s time to regulate the establishment of new ones.
Frasco said she will put up a comprehensive road network to decongest the national highway and a Central Command Center for emergency response and traffic management.
Meanwhile, Enriquez said he will require every household to have a water catchment facility.
“One solution we can do is to utilize storm water through a catchment facility so we don’t have to worry about water from other sources,” he said.
The mayoral bet said Danao City is Cebu’s gateway to the north and the city’s progress can expand to other areas.
Enriquez said he is running because he wants to end public perception that Danao City is ruled by the Durano family.
He said he intends to reverse that perception and make sure investors are encouraged to invest in the city without thinking that politics will be involved in their transactions.
The Mega Cebu platform is a consortium of government, private and civil society stakeholders that envisions sustained urban growth in Metro Cebu up to 2050.