Mega Cebu candidates forum on today

Five mayoral candidates of the three cities in Cebu’s 1st congressional district will present their vision of growth in the first round of the Mega Cebu Candidates Fora at 8 a.m. today.

The are reelectionist Nicepuro Apura and Mariano Alegarbes of Carcar City; Lakambini Reluya of San Fernando; Mayor Val Chiong of Naga City; and 1st District Rep. Eduardo Gullas of Talisay City.

The five confirmed attendance in today’s forum in the Cebu Cultural Center in the UP Cebu campus in barangay Lahug.

The lone congressional candidate Gerald Anthony “Samsam” Gullas begged off citing a previous campaign commitment.

The non-debate forum mounted by the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. with private sector partners, including Cebu Daily News, will draw out the candidates’ plans and platform of government to address that promote or hold back the coordinated, well planned growth of Metro Cebu.

The aspirants will answer questions from a five-member panel that includes Prof. Felisa Etemadi of UP Cebu for the academe, Frank Malilong Jr. of TV 5 for the media sector, Joel Lee of the Movement for a Livable Cebu for civil society, Antonio Chiu of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Jenny Lea Tan of the Young Minds Academy and Dilaab for the youth sector and Aina Hubahib of NEDA 7 for the government.

The three-day series of candidates’ fora covers Metro Cebu from Danao city in the north to Carcar town in the south.

On April 19, candidates from the 5th and 6th district and Lapu-Lapu City are invited. April 25 is the turn of candidates of Cebu City and the gubernatorial and vice gubernatorial race.

The public can also ask questions candidates through text and social media.

The 1,000-seat theater will have WiFi access powered by Smart Communications.

Cellphone numbers for text questions will be flashed during the forum, while Twitter users may tweet their questions using the hashtag #mcebuforum or post questions at the Facebook account of Mega Cebu.

At the end of the forum, candidates will be shown a “To Do” list of their five main priorities based on their presentation.

Candidates were asked to share their views and plans in five key areas: 1) infrastructure, urban planning, zoning and land use, traffic, transportation 2) poverty alleviation, housing 3) peace and order, leadership 4) water, environment, health and waste management 5) culture and heritage, tourism, people and identity. /Marian Z. Codilla, Senior Reporter