Gwen using bigger venue for last SOPA

Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia  is choosing a bigger venue to deliver her last State of the Province Address (SOPA) on July 20, a Friday.

Instead of the Capitol social hall, she will hold the event for the first time in the  Cebu International Convention Center (CICC), which can seat 1,500 in the plenary hall.

Garcia said she would take time to thank local officials for supporting her administration for the past eight years.

She said she is inviting, aside from mayors and vice mayors, the barangay captains and councilors of Cebu province. Barangay health workers and barangay tanods will also be invited, she said, aside from some national figures, whom she declined to name.

“By its very definition, I am supposed to report to the people the state of the province. I think there is always a proper time for every issue and event,” she said.

Garcia said her SOPA will summarize the eight years of her tenure in office.

“I am proud to say that the province of Cebu has beecome a model among all the other provinces in the region,” she told reporters.

Meanwhile, Danao City Mayor Ramon “Boy“ Durano said he and others will take their oath as members of the One Cebu party after the SOPA.

The governor met with  Durano yesterday at the Captiol although Garcia said he only asked for assistance for Danao city.

Garcia said they are scheduling the entry of  new party members.  “We will always welcome those who  believe in the principles of One Cebu… founded on unity,” she said.  Correspondent Carmel Loise Matus