GOV. Gwendolyn Garcia had the chance to review the gains of her nine-year term and point them out to her successor Governor-elect Hilario “Jun” Davide yesterday.
She said her original 12-point agenda when she was first elected in 2004, became “12+2” because of “unforeseen” activities in international relations and communication.
Giving a briefing of “the state of performance, state of development, financial peformance and key challenges to the incoming set of officials” is specified as one of the duties of of an incumbent who is also mandated to head the local transition team for winners of the May 13 election, under a memorandum of the Department of Interior and Local Government.
She said she focused on infrastructure projects due to its wide impact, and cited the Cebu Bulk Water Supply project as the most significant.
Under a “public-private partnership”, the provincial government has 49 per cent in a consoritum with Ayala Corporation, the Manuel V. Pangilinan-led Metro Pacific Water Investments Corp. and the Gaisano Group of Companies.
“This is a first and a lot of milestones come with the project. When they draw fresh water along the way, this is intended to supply 35 million liters a day to Metro Cebu. This is a project that has a big impact,” she said.
She also said the rise of a BPO complex on a 2.2 hectare province-owned lot near the IT Park in Cebu City was the “best deal the Province ever had.”
She said the land earns P600,000 a month rental, and that the 4 or 5 towers to be built by Filinvest will later become the property of the province after 25 years under a build-transfer-operate (BTO) scheme with the land value reaching P4.5 billion.
Other priorities in her 12 point agenda refer to water, power, health, education, agriculture and food production, women, children and the elderly, business, tourism, heritage and culture, and the environment.
In health service, she said the Capitol helped set up birthing centers in all towns and cities of Cebu province.
On agriculture, all farmers and fisherfolks in Cebu are provided insurance by the Philippine Crop Insurance, she said.
Heritage and tourism were pursed through the Suroy-Suroy Sugbo tours, the setting up of the Museo Sugbo from a former provincial jail, and the final renovation of the Cebu Cultural Center.
“These are not mainly for income generation but this is for the promotion of tourism in the countryside,” she said, refering to the Suroy-Suroy tours, which package overnight visits of tourists to destinations in the towns.
The Museo Sugbo, a complex of six buildings , includes galleries of artifacts curated by the National Historical Commission.
Students from all parts of Cebu visit the museum which “teaches the next generation what we are,” said former Museo consultant Jobers Bersales.
The Cebu Cultural Center in the UP Cebu campus was finally completed and now hosts performances for audiences of more than 1,000.
“This can be managed as an economic enterprise,” suggested Garcia.
Under her administration, Garcia said she has sealed sisterhood agreements with with provinces and cities in Korea, Russia, the United States, Chile and Israel together with local sister provinces in Antique, Ilocos Norte, South Cotabato, Masbate and Bukidnon.
(Garcia didn’t mention her other prominent projects such as the Cebu International Convention Center (CICC).)
The only time she mentioned her six-month suspension was when slides flashed for the Sugbo TV and magazine.
“We had the Sugbo TV and Sugbo News but during my suspension, these were all changed. But that was what we started,” said Garcia.
On Friday, a formal turn-over ceremony is being arranged by Garcia on Friday morning, June 28, at the Capitol social hall.
Davide and his transition team accepted her invitation to attend.
All Cebu mayors, Capitol department heads and assistants and Provincial Board members are also invited, said Garcia.
Under the DILG memorandum, the incumbent chief executive must head a transition team and “organize a turn-overy ceremony to include a briefing on the state of perofrmance, state of development, financial peformance and key challenges to the incoming set of officials.”
The transition team must also conduct an inventory of all properties, assemble a list of policy and finance documents, turn over accountabilities on June 30./Correspondent Peter Romanillos