Cebu, 4th, 6th district bets in forum today

The Mega Cebu Candidates Fora resumes today with contenders for the post of governor, vice governor and mayors in Cebu’s 5th district, 6th district and Lapu-Lapu City.

The forum seeks to draw the candidates’ response to the question, “What is your vision of growth for Cebu?”

The morning is the turn of six Liberal Party candidates.

The afternoon is the turn of five candidates of One Cebu and the United National Alliance (UNA).

Those who confirmed to attend the forum at 9 a.m. at the Cebu Cultural Center at the UP Cebu campus are:

Hilario “Junjun” Davide III for governor; Agnes Magpale for vice governor; Ace Durano for 5th district congressman; Consolacion Mayor Teresa Alegado seeking reelection; Cordova Mayor Adelino Sitoy seeking reelection; and Efrain Pelaez Jr. for Lapu-Lapu city mayor.

In the afternoon, the candidates lined up are Victor Biaño for Mandaue City mayor; Liloan Mayor Vincent Frasco seeking reelection; Compostela Mayor Ritchie Wagas seeking reelection; Remegio Oyao, an independent bet for 6th district congressman, and Rodrigo Jumao-as for Cordova mayor.

One Cebu gubernatorial bet Pablo John Garcia and his running mate Ramon “Boboy” Durano IV were invited to attend the last round on Monday, April 29 with other Cebu City bets of UNA and Team Rama.

The first round was held last April 10 for candidates of the 1st district.

The non-debate format aims to surface issues that need to be addressed by Cebu’s future leaders looking ahead to 2050.

Each candidate will give a five-minute opening statement, then answer questions from a panel of representatives from business, academe, youth, civil society, government and the news media.

Their top five priorities will be summarized in a slide flashed at the end of the forum for confirmation.

The public can also send questions by text or tweet or follow the discussion on Twitter hashtag #mcebuforum or the Facebook account of Mega Cebu MCDCB.

The 1,000-seat venue will have WiFi connectivity through Smart Telecom.

BIG PICTURE

Mega Cebu refers to the seven cities and six towns of metropolitan Cebu where closer coordination is needed with a perspective of looking at governance and development from a “big picture” and not just an individual locality.

A “mega city” has a population of 10 million or more, a size which Cebu is expected to reach in 2050 of about 12 million.

The cities are Carcar, Naga, Talisay, Cebu, Mandaue, Lapu-Lapu and Danao. The six towns are San Fernando, Minglanilla, Cordova, Consolacion, Liloan, and Compostela.

Over 60 candidates have been invited for the Mega Cebu Forum to explain their platforms and track records in any of five themes:

1. infrastructure, urban planning, zoning and land use, traffic, transportation, 2. poverty alleviation, housing 3. environment, waste management, health, education, 4. culture and heritage, tourism.

The forum is organized by the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. with partners Cebu Daily News, chambers of commerce of Mandaue and Cebu City, the Cebu Business Club, Movement for Liveable Cebu, Cebu Leads Foundation Inc., and Alcordo Advertising.