‘TIME TO REAP’

Davide cites national awards, modest gains of  ‘good governance’ after 2 years

Gov. Hilario Davide III delivers his State of the Province Address (SOPA) which he prefers to call a “Report to the People” at the Capitol Social Hall. “We do not need edifices to glorify ourselves,” he said after he called the dilapidated Cebu International Convention Center of the past administration “an P840-million mistake that we inherited.” (CDN PHOTO/ TONEE DESPOJO)

National awards for “good governance” and a no. 3 ranking for Cebu province as a competitive investment site were highlighted yesterday  by Cebu Gov. Hilario Davide III as he opened his State of the Province Address.

He spoke of improving the lives of farmers, hiring full-time doctors for district hospitals, and rolling out disaster and risk reduction programs  in the towns, which had not been done before.

“When we assumed office in 2013, we promised genuine change and began planting the seeds of good governance. Two years hence, we are reaping the fruits of what we have planted,” Davide said.

With a reelection campaign ahead, Davide referred to critics who accuse him of not doing enough.

“Apan duna kitay mga kaigsuonan, wa na himuot sa atong gibuhat–moingon nga si Davide, way nabuhat (But we have bretheren who are not pleased with what we achieved and say that Davide has not done anything),” the governor said.

He repeated that line eight times after reporting on gains made by his Liberal Party administration in eight sectors of health care, rural development, education, environment, law and order, infrastructure , investments and internal processes.

Each time, this side comment was made it drew applause from the crowd of local officials at the Capitol Social Hall. They gave him  a standing ovation at the end of his hour-long speech, which he insisted on calling a Report  to the People, instead of the traditional SOPA.

NO EDIFICES

In infrastructure, there were no big completed projects to boast of but he  held out promises for some ahead.

“We do not need edifices to glorify ourselves,” said Davide.

He mentioned P204 million worth of barangay projects given directly to mayors to execute and that a P2 billion fund is ready for projects in Cebu’s 44 towns.

He said a Trans-axial Highway from the north to the southern tip of Cebu across the central mountains, a campaign promise, “is not yet feasible at this time” but that he remains committed to linking the countryside.

Davide said a World Bank-funded rural program would help the province implement four major roads in the north in Bogo City, San Remigio and Daanbantayan, a total of 20.8 kilometers worth P211 million.

Up ahead, he also said the 2016 national budget, under the Aquino administration, has guaranteed P1.6 billion for 84.5 kilometers of provincial roads leading to tourist destinations in south

Cebu’s San Fernando, Carcar City, Oslob, Malabuyoc, Moalboal and Aloguinsan, with more roads for northern tourist sites in Tuburan, Medellin , Bantayan Island, Carmen and Camotes Island.

EXPENSIVE MISTAKE

Days earlier, his predecessor, Rep. Gwen Garcia, criticized him for letting her legacy project, the Cebu International Convention Center, deteriorate.

Davide yesterday called the center, built in 2006, “an P840-million mistake that we inherited.”

“We want to ensure that future public investments will meet the needs of private capital… we cannot afford extravagant mistakes,” he said.

He said the repair of the CICC , still the subject of a graft investigation, “was never his priority”  and that he had promised not to spend a single centavo more from provincial coffers.

The dilapidatetd multi-million Cebu International Convention Center. (CDN FILE PHOTO)

“But I am mindful that something should be done,” he said and earlier asked President Aquino to help repair the building after the 2013 earthquake and asked permission from the Ombudsman to allow the province to do repairs.

By next year, he said, the national government through the Department of Trade and Industry can start fixing the building and use it as a center for industry and trade exhibition.

For future public investments, Davide said he would push hard for a new international seaport, already proposed to NEDA, and is reviewing options for other seaports in Minglanilla, Bogo City, Santander and Tabuelan.

Studies by the Aviation Board have begun for airports in Bantayan and Camotes islands, he said, and the province continues to develop new economic zones in the north and south.

Davide asked Cebuanos to support his reelection next year, reminding them of his tandem with Vice Gov. Agnes Magpale, who “has supported, guided and protected me all the way”.

He said there was still much to be done for Cebu.

“Some of our fellow Cebuanos— those who wish for us not to succeed— complain we have done too little. When we do our job with pure and sincere intentions, we do not need the cameras to roll while we plant the seeds of change. We do not need edifices to glorify ourselves,” he said.

FIRSTS

Some of the “firsts” cited in the Davide administration were:
-the setting up of a Cebu Investment Promotion Center
– the creation of the Provincial Disaster and Risk Reduction and Management Center, with ongoing work on town-level contingency plans and climate change adaptation.
-“paperless processing” through a new computerized system that tracks expenditures in the Capitol up to disbursement with reduced processing time by  30 percent;
-the country’s first Shark and Manta Ray Sanctuary in Daanbantayan town’s Monad Shoal and Gato Islet.

Like President Aquino’s State of the Nation Address, Davide used videotaped testimonies of people helped by his progarms.

Five videos were spread througut the speech. Jiolito Manansalay, a patient, was enrolled by the province in PhilHealth’s  Point-of-Care.

“Nagpasalamat gyud ko kay naoperahan dayon ko sa Carcar District Hospital tungod ani nga programa (I am thankful because I underwent an operation at the Carcar City District Hospital due to this program),” he said.

Three rural farmers Deogracias Ventic, Marcos Baricuatro, and Quintin Alcuizar thanked the province for its Farmer-Scientist Training Program (FSTP).

Ventic said he used to harvest only 800 to 1,000 kilograms of corn but after applying what he learned last year, the yield is now 3,000 kilos of corn.

BLESSED WITH AWARDS

Davide started his speech by saying the province is “blessed this year with awards for good governance one after the other.”

The Department of Interior and Local Government gave Cebu the Seal of Good Local Governance for its financial housekeeping, disaster preparedness, social protection, business friendliness and competitiveness, peace and order as well as environmental management.

Cebu was also ranked third in the first ever survey of provinces by the National Competitiveness Council, scoring well in economic dynamism, government efficiency and infrastructure.

The Department of Finance said Cebu province was the most efficient in revenue collection in Central Visayas. Locally sourced revenue rose by 40 percent withougt having to raise taxes.

“For me, good governance is good politics,” said Davide.

In health care, doctors of district hospitals are now directly hired by the province, instead of using agency-hires, a scheme of the previous administartion.

From 77 doctors and 180 nurses, mostly outsourced, in 2013, the province now has 117 doctors, 50 of whom are specialists, and 399 nurses all directly hired by the provincial government.

Under a partnership with Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC) for medical consignment, drugs and medical supplies available to provincial and district hospitals within one week after orders.

In investments, Davide announced that Taiheiyo Cement of Japan has made an additional P663 million investment in a state-of-the-art finished mill in its plant in San Fernando town.

He also said the Japan International Cooperation Agency will expand its investment study from Metro Cebu to the entire Cebu province.