ILOILO City – Five midterm election candidates – three running for this city’s mayor and two for Iloilo province’s governor – all agree there is a need to sustain Iloilo’s growth momentum. But how?
Yesterday at the candidates’ forum “Agenda 2019: The Search for the Next Iloilo CEOs” organized by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, they bared their plans.
They were Mayor Jose Espinosa III, Dr. Pacita Gonzalez and Cong. Jerry Treñas (candidates for city mayor) mayor) and Cong. Ferjenel Biron and Cong. Arthur Defensor Jr. (candidates for governor).
“They differ only in their approach or focus. Sin-o bala sa ila ang maka-continue kag makadugang sa mga gains naton?” said Lea Lara, Iloilo Business Club executive director and one of the forum’s panelists.
The candidates were each given 30 minutes to present their plans. The spectators were from various sectors – business, media, academe, religious, and civic.
ESPINOSA
Iloilo City must remain business-friendly and livable, he said.
Keeping it free from illegal drugs and crimes and the city government from corruption will do it, according to Espinosa.
Tagged as “most shabulized” in 2016, Iloilo City became free from the scourge of illegal drugs under his watch, Espinosa told the audience.
“I’m proud to say that Iloilo City was one of the 241 local governments given the National Anti-Drug Abuse Council Performance Award for a successful campaign against illegal drugs,” he said.
Espinosa also stressed the importance forging economic partnerships with other cities and countries like those in China and South Korea.
On top of these, he said, public markets and public plazas would be improved, and more public infrastructures built.
Espinosa also vowed to sustain the community outreach program “Pag-ulikid” that brings to the barangays the frontline services of the city government.
GONZALEZ
The wife of the late Justice secretary Raul Gonzalez Sr. emphasized the importance of a clean leadership.
“Ako wala bahid droga, wala corruption, wala kaso sa Ombudsman, wala kaso sa Sandiganbayan,” she said.
She vowed to further spur economic development and claimed it was her who brought in one of the biggest investors in Iloilo, Megaworld Corporation.
“Now, you can see that it is one of the best places to go,” she said, referring to the Iloilo Business Park that Megaworld has been developing after acquiring the old Iloilo Airport area in Mandurriao district.
Gonzalez also vowed to build a hospital truly for the poor, “something helpful and lasting.”
TREÑAS
He capsulized his vision for Iloilo in the acronym WHEELS – Welfare, Health and Sanitation, Education, Environmental Management, Livelihood and the Local Economy, and Sustainability.
“Let us bring Iloilo to the next level, it’s about time,” said Treñas.
He bared a plan to convert the La Paz Maternity and Reproductive Health Center into a city hospital, improve the Iloilo City Community College’s education system and public markets, and sustain the redevelopment and conservation of the Iloilo River among many others.
BIRON
In his “RoadMap to Winning Iloilo’s Future”, he vowed to make Iloilo business-friendly and globally competitive by, among others, smart investing on infrastructure development and innovation, and boosting tourism, culture and arts.
He also stressed the importance of peace, better health services, and building networks and partnerships.
A businessman himself, Biron said he authored in Congress laws such as the Ease of Doing Business Act and the Revised Corporate Code of the Philippines.
One of the specific plans he bared was the conversion of the Dumangas seaport into an international port, and the construction of two more district hospitals in the Tigbauan-Oton area and Leganes-Zarraga area; scholarship program for poor but deserving students; increase the bed capacity of district hospitals; and manage disaster risks.
DEFENSOR
His three-point agenda is “trabaho kag negosyo”, food security and accessible healthcare.
Going specific, he said Iloilo being mainly agricultural must development products with big employment and economic potentials especially on the grassroots such as cacao and coffee.
He also stressed the importance of supporting small and medium enterprises and told the audience he authored the newly passed Tax Amnesty Law or Republic Act 11223 which enhances revenue administration and collection by granting amnesty on all unpaid internal revenue taxes imposed by the national government for taxable year 2017 and prior years with respect to estate tax, other internal revenue taxes, and tax on delinquencies.
Defensor also vowed to further boost local tourism, attract direct investments in manufacturing, develop ports, and forge partnerships with the private sector in various concerns such as enhancing health services.
The redevelopment of district hospitals must be continued, he added./PN
