We have good and bad news for you!
We have good news and bad news. So let's go to the bad news first. The feared Abu Sayyaf haven't done anything in Cebu, but they might be here as reported in The Freeman. Superintendent Julian Entoma, chief of the Regional Intelligence Division-7 revealed they got reports that four to six alleged members of the Abu Sayyaf entered Dumaguete City and are headed for Cebu. Should we sound the alarm? Shout out a cry that the Barbarians are at the gate? If there is anything I don't want to see is to stir fear in our populace. But if you ask me, the PNP must be clear with their Intel report about the presence of the Abu Sayyaf in Cebu. But with no other reports on this issue, one can say that no news is good news.
So now for the good news. While I don't subscribe to Conde Nast Traveler magazine because it is just too expensive for me, but just the same, we thank them for choosing Cebu as the 5th best island in the world, a huge upgrade from the 19th spot that we bagged in previous years. All this is happening despite the glaring problems that our tourism industry continues to face like a serious lack of infrastructure that created the traffic congestion between Mactan and mainland Cebu.
So before you folks belonging to the Local Government Units pat yourselves on the back, remember that despite all your feeble efforts, Cebu still made it to 5th in the world. So just imagine if you folks fixed or cleaned up our roads leading to the fabulous resorts in Mactan, it would certainly go a long way to enhance our tourism destinations.
Perhaps the more notable recognition was that the Mactan Cebu International Airport bagged the 14th Best Airport in Asia. This is an improvement from last year's 18th spot. This survey was collated by Sleepin-gInAirport.net travelers. To think that the GMR/Megawide consortium only took over the MCIA in less than two years and they already bagged this recognition. Kudos to Airport Manager Andrew Harrison. It just makes me wonder where Cebu would be when the new GMR/Megawide Terminal 2 would open its doors to the public.
In the meantime before the Mactan Cebu International Airport Authority Board sits on their laurels (this always happens with government agencies) let me tell them that their work is cut out for them to put in place the 2nd Runway in Mactan. By the time we open the new terminal 2 in about two years, this would mean that there will be more travelers flying to Cebu to experience our new airport terminal. So are we ready for the future of Cebu? Hmmmm, I think not, not until we are smart enough to prepare the Mactan Cebu International Airport for the next 50 years.
In the meantime, we still have to get over with the tag that Cebu is the Worst Place to Drive by Waze. Frankly speaking, I still don't see anyone trying to change this image that many users of Waze are telling us and the world. This means we need to change our driving habits and as we know about habits it is very difficult to change that's why they are called habits. But we've got to start somewhere and change those ugly habits.
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Remember the suggestion we made in the late 1990's to link the island of Cebu to Bohol via a bridge and tunnel network? That proposal went as far as being endorsed in the Regional Development Council (RDC) during the term of Infrastructure Chairman Emmanuel "Manny" Rabacal and adopted by the late Gov. Enrico Aumentado. Yes, let me say it here that this idea came from us and the Boholanos grabbed it. But then I thought, I don't really care for getting the fame for as long as the vision turns into reality.
Back then I chanced upon this idea when I saw the 1993 movie "True Lies" starring Arnold Schwarzenegger which was shot on location in the Florida Keys's Old Seven Mile Bridge. Key West is one of the longest bridges in America and the Seven Mile Bridge is a sight to behold and this was shown in the movie. It was then that I said to myself, "if only we had such a bridge between Cebu and Bohol. It would certainly be a great boost to the economy of Cebu and Bohol." That's how the idea came out and whether this becomes a reality is something that dreams are made of.
But the Cebu-Bohol Bridge is a big-ticket item. If ever it materializes, it will be the biggest infrastructure project in the country. Mind you, China is already halfway on its infrastructure project to build a bridge from Hong Kong to Macao and I already saw parts of it two years ago when I was last in Hong Kong. Let's just hope that maybe the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) would submit this project to seal the new relations between the Japanese government and the Philippine government. Only then can we truly believe that this dream can become a reality. Meanwhile like I said, China is pushing for their big-ticket infrastructure project in Macao but what about the Philippines? Will we also get our big ticket infra projects? I hope so!
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