Cordova mayor supports creation of Mactan province

Cordova town Mayor Adelino Sitoy will support the campaign to carve out Mactan Island from the province of Cebu and make it a separate province.
Sitoy told Cebu Daily News that he would rather name the proposed province Mactan Cebu province.
“I agree to the creation of Mactan Cebu Province. Apil mi ana para mausa mi,” [We will join it so we can be unified], Sitoy said.
He said that in the current set-up, Cordova town in Mactan Island is isolated in Cebu’s 6th congressional district as Lapu-Lapu City, a chartered city, has its own seat in Congress. Like Cebu City, Lapu-Lapu is not under the jurisdiction of the Cebu provincial government.
“If we will not join Lapu-Lapu, we may end up getting a visa when passing through the city in going to mainland Cebu,” he joked.
Sitoy’s statement came a day after Congresswoman-elect Aileen Radaza announced her plan to file a bill creating the province of Mactan. The mayor’s statement, however, is a departure from his earlier stand on the issue.
At the height of the filing of candidacies in October last year, Sitoy accused the Radazas of being behind the mayoralty bid of boxing promoter Rex “Wakee” Salud in Cordova.
He said then that Salud, a friend of outgoing Lapu-Lapu Rep. Arturo Radaza, was running so the Radaza’s proposal to separate Mactan Island from the province of Cebu will not be opposed by Cordova.
This time, Sitoy, who just won a fresh mandate as Cordova mayor, said they have shared features and problems with Lapu-Lapu City.
Mactan Cebu province, he said will be the most gifted province in the country, with beautiful beaches, bird and marine sanctuaries and a robust industry.
The proposed Mactan Cebu province will also be the gateway to the Visayas because of the Mactan Cebu International Airport (MCIA), Sitoy said.
“We will solve our common problems together,” he said referring to peace and order, garbage disposal, water and power, and coastal protection.
He mentioned anew a proposal to transfer the international airport to Cordova town, a project once proposed by Cebu south district Rep. Tomas Osmeña who just lost his mayoralty bid in Cebu City.
Areas surrounding MCIA, Sitoy said, can’t develop high rise buildings because of flight path restrictions.
Transferring the international airport to barangay Buaya and Pusok of Cordova will free Lapu-Lapu City to construct buildings, he explained.
“Mactan Cebu Province will boom, because we can govern our island independently. We will act as a province and not anymore at the mercy of the Cebu provincial government,” he said.