PB member: Is Balamban ready?

CEBU, Philippines — Cebu Third District Board Member John Ismael Borgonia sees the good points in moving the Capitol services to Balamban but has raised the concern on whether the town is ready for the traffic the influx of people.

"Ang ato lang is ready or prepared na ba ang Balamban, especially sa roads nga dapat dagko gyud. Ready naba ang Balamban mo-accept sa traffic sa mga tawo, volume of vehicles, and the volume of people who will be going or coming to Balamban?" Borgonia said.

"I think there's a need for Balamban to prepare, in which gibuhat gyud ni ang infra(structure) nga mag-connect sa mga dalan, dili lang sa highway but labi na sa interior portion para dili ma-congest ug walay bottleneck," he added.

Aside from road widening, Borgonia said there is also a need to create alternate roads accessible to Toledo and Tuburan in the northwest.

"Maayo nga gi-announce ni layo pa ni Gov. para challenge pod ni sa LGU para ma-ready nga mahimong venue of seat of power sa province," he said

Museum

Governor Gwendolyn Garcia yesterday said the Cebu Provincial Capitol building on Escario Street in Cebu City will be preserved once the envisioned government center in midwest town of Balamban will be realized.

Garcia said the existing Capitol building will become a museum and a mixed-use development.

“So priority is to preserve this but second we are also looking of possible mixed us aside from museum, other  viable ways in which we  will not only preserve (the building)  but the province will continue to draw revenue from this entire capitol compound,” Garcia said.

The Capitol will work with the National Historical Commission of the Philippines about this since the Cebu Provincial Capitol building is a heritage site.

Garcia clarified it’s the provincial government services that will be transferred to Balamban, and not the Capitol structure itself.

“You can never move the Capitol, and I have no intention, whatsoever of moving the Capitol. It is in the best place it could possibly be, in the entire country, and in the entire Southeast Asia, right here at kilometer zero in Cebu City,” Garcia emphasized.

The government center she envisions is where the provincial government services can be availed of by the provincial constituents, and where the provincial government officials will hold office.

“The various offices in the executive department shall also hold offices, such as the provincial engineering’s office, provincial agriculturist office, provincial health, provincial social welfare, administrator’s office and all other offices,” Garcia said.

Garcia’ plan to transfer government services to Balamban is also a way of boosting economic and countryside development in the province, she said.

“This is really first of all makatabang ni diri, maka-ease up mi’s traffic kining padulong sa Cebu City. Ikaduha, but, I think mas labaw nga mas importante, for the convenience of our provincial constituents and to establish the province’s own identity,” she added.

The province is eyeing a P550 million budget for the acquisition and development of the said government center.

Support

Meanwhile, Vice Governor Hilario Davide III expressed support to the plan of Garcia saying that even then governor Lito Osmeña proposed this kind of project.

“Being part of the province and easily accessible, Balamban would be an ideal location. Although traditionally the seat of the provincial government is in the capital city, this shouldn’t be a problem kay Cebu City is not part of the province politically,” Davide told The FREEMAN.

Borgonia agrees that the transfer will give constituents easy access to government services and that it also signals the development of the countryside.

Borgonia said this will help decongest Cebu City where a lot of residents in the province study and work.

"Ang mga tawo sa Cebu City, daghan gyud taga Cebu Province. Moari sila para mang-eskwela, then after og eskwela nila, di naman na manguli sa probinsya, ari naman na manarbaho. So congested na kaayo, mosamot og kadasok diri sa Metro Cebu," he said, adding that with everything accessible in the province, residents will no longer have to migrate to Cebu City to study and work.

At the height of the pandemic, he recalled that the Capitol was affected when Cebu City set policies and some people thought the city was under the province.

"At least sa kana nga physical setup nga wala na gyud physically ang Cebu seat of government sa Cebu City, so nana gyud ang territorial jurisdiction sa province," he said. — Mae Fhel Gom-os, JMD (FREEMAN)