Bets vow to solve city’s woes

CEBU, Philippines — Candidates for the top positions in Cebu City share the same solutions to the perennial problem of the city that include garbage, traffic, flooding, and water supply.

Yesterday, the two opposing camps were invited as guests in the last episode of Mega Cebu Candidates Forum “Klarohay Ta!” at the Buttenbruch Hall of the USC Main Campus.

“Klarohay Ta” is the only Comelec-endorsed candidates’ forum in Cebu for the May 13 elections.

In the morning, Barug-PDP Laban candidates Vice Mayor Edgardo Labella who is the standard bearer, Michael Rama for vice mayor, South District congressional bet Jocelyn Pesquera and North District congressional candidate Richard Edison Yap graced the affair.

In the afternoon, Mayor Tomas Osmeña of Bando Osmeña-Pundok Kauswagan attended the forum along with his runningmate Mary Ann de los Santos and reelectionist North District Representative Raul del Mar.  Reelectionist and South District Representative Rodrigo Abellanosa did not attend the forum yesterday.

Both camps expressed confidence that their group will win in the midterm elections as they don’t want to think that the executive department and the head of the legislative department will come from different political group.

Rama said he does not want to anticipate the possibility of leading the legislative department, while Osmeña will be heading the executive department because he is confident that Labella will be the next mayor of the city.

For Osmeña, he said he is confident that Rama will not win and his vice mayor would be de los Santos.

Garbage

With the city’s average daily generation of garbage at over 540 tons, all candidates agreed that the city should take innovative technology that will answer the problem.

The establishment of a waste-to-energy (WTE) is among the solutions that were forwarded by all candidates.

Labella said the program of WTE should start at the households wherein people will be segregating their wastes under the long term plan.

Yap and Pesquera vowed to support the putting up of WTE facilities wherein wastes will be turned into energy and will make the city a zero waste.

Labella also criticized the current administration as it has tripled the budget in the garbage disposal and collection from P120 million during Rama’s administration to this year’s almost P600 million.

If elected in office, Labella said he will implement 24/7 collection of garbage to ensure that there will be no pile of garbage left in the streets.

He also plans to put up additional transfer stations to ensure that the barangays with small garbage trucks have an area where they can put the garbage while big garbage trucks will haul the garbage from the transfer station to the landfill.

Osmeña, for his part, said the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has granted the city government a P40-million study on the establishment of a WTE facility.

The mayor said ADB is now studying the contractor that will be awarded to establish the WTE facility in the city.

He said the city is implementing the “Basura Mo, Sardinas Ko” program wherein residents can get cans of sardines in exchange of their garbage.

De los Santos said the city is now looking the best way to address the garbage problem which is to establish the WTE.

As to the complaint of the opposition on the expenses of the city, she said it just suits as the number of people living in the city also increased compared to the previous administration.

For as long as the city is transparent with the use of public funds, she said there will be no problem with that.

Traffic

Both groups vowed to support the construction of infrastructure that would help address the traffic.

Few things that some candidates have dissimilar stance include the implementation of the P17 billion Bus Rapid Transit project; and the construction of flyovers.

Osmeña, who has studied the project for several years, said the traffic problem is not limited to few factors but many factors.

One thing in mind to address the traffic problem is the implementation of the BRT, he said, even with the move of the critics to block the project.

As for the stance of the opposition that the BRT will only add to the traffic problem because of the narrow roads, Osmeña said private car owners will be forced to use the BRT and thereby lessen the volume of cars on the road.

Rama said the city’s officials should work hand in hand to implement the long overdue BRT project.

Del Mar, for his part, said the traffic problem will be addressed through construction of underpass, subway, light rail transit, and implementation of BRT.

He believed that the existing road of the city can no longer accommodate the volume of cars on the streets.

Rama, however, said the flyovers should not be implemented since Cebu City is considered as a heritage city and construction of flyovers will ruin the beauty of the scenery.

Labella said he was amenable on the implementation of the BRT before but the narrow roads of the city changed his belief that it will solve to the problem.

Same with Pesquera, she said the BRT will add more to the problem than solving the traffic mess, adding that the permanent construction of bus stops are in the middle of the road.

Pesquera agreed with del Mar on the construction of subway to utilize the space underneath.

Yap also expressed agreement on focusing on the implementation of the LRT which is part of the Build Build Build project of the national government to be at par with other countries in the world.

Both Pesquera and de los Santos agreed that the people of the city should help in addressing the traffic problem by following the traffic rules and be disciplined enough while driving.

Water and flooding

All candidates agreed for the city to push through with the construction of catchment basin and desalination of water.

Del Mar said the Metropolitan Cebu Water District is only supplying 40 percent of the demand. (FREEMAN)