Bogo City seeks aid for port dev’t

THE Bogo city government is asking the Cebu Ports Authority to help fund the expansion of the Pulangbato Roll-on and Roll-off Port as part of efforts to spur economic growth.

The city government trying to carve out a ‘business district’ out of vast sugarcane fields in barangay Cayang.

This will be completed in December or early January next year, said Mayor Celestino “Junie” Martinez, Jr, during the 888 News Forum held offsite in the northern city yesterday.

The site will also host Bogo’s new City Hall and will have an entertainment area.

“We are aggressively selling and marketing the city of Bogo,” Mayor Martinez said.

With the opening of Pulangbato Port in Bogo in 2009, roro ship transport has been available to and from the provinces of Masbate and Leyte.

He mentioned that Catbalogan City in Samar is also planning to establish a maritime link with the Port of Pulangbato.

This has made the flow of people, goods and industrial products from different parts of the country to northern Cebu sier and cheaper, the mayor said.

The CPA has been helping the city but the mayor said more assistance is needed.

“They have given about P8 million as help but to improve the port of Bogo, we would need about a P100 million to develop it so that big vessels can dock,” he said

Mayor Martinez said the Cebu provincial government must give other cities to prosper.

“Cebu is not Cebu City only, Cebu is the whole province of Cebu,” he said.

Martinez is running for reelection next year while son Tining is running for the 4th congressional district seat under the Liberal Party.

LP candidates in the 4th district are asking the Philippine National Police to ensure peace and order there in the runup to the election.

They said they want to avoid what had happened in the 2010 elections when harassment of voters was rampant.

Former mayor Celestino “Tining” Martinez, III. said only 65 percent of the voters were able to cast their ballots in the 2010 election because many were threatened by suporters of their political opponents.

He was referring to Rep. Behur Salimbangon of the One Cebu party who is seeking reelection next year.

A rematch in the midterm election will see both of them vying for votes.

His father, Mayor Martinez will have rematch against Salimbangon’s sister Mariquita Salimbangon-Yeung for Bogo city mayor.