Osmeña pooh-poohs Lapu prize
By Marian Z. Codilla
Cebu Daily News
First Posted 13:35:00 07/08/2008
CEBU CITY, Philippines – Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña has belittled the honor given to Lapu-Lapu City as one of the most competitive cities in the country.
Lapu-Lapu was given the distinction last Friday by the Asian Institute of Management, as it unveiled the results of the 2007 Philippine Cities Competitiveness Ranking Project.
Lapu-Lapu ranked high in that study because of the presence of infrastructure and the low cost of doing business in the country.
For Osmeña, however, that doesn't mean a thing.
“I really don't know what they (AIM) are talking about,” he said.
He questioned AIM's decision since they are giving credit to infrastructure, such as the export processing zones, which is not even under the management of the local government unit of Lapu-Lapu.
“Mactan Export Processing Zone (MEPZA) has its own administration and provides their own services, so how can we give credit to the local government. The airport is under the Mactan Cebu International Airport Authority and (some of) the infrastructure in Lapu-Lapu came from Cebu City government and the Cebu City mayor,” the confused Osmeña said.
The mayor said that while he might be accused of sourgraping, he said he is answerable to the residents of Cebu.
“I just have to defend the city and explain to the people of Cebu City that is why I am speaking out. They (Lapu-Lapu City) are very far behind,” Osmeña said.
Osmeña said he does not have high regard to the awarding body since according to him, the AIM does not have a track record for bringing in investors and studying the local government units (LGUs).
“If they want to give an award, that's fine but it does not mean that we should model ourselves with their standards,” Osmeña said.
The mayor said it was he and Lito Osmeña who pushed for the construction of the second Mactan Bridge. It was also he who thought about the circumferential road in Lapu-Lapu, the road from the old Mactan bridge going to Marigondon, he added.
“I even have a map here (mayor's office),” Osmeña pointed out.
Even the businessmen in Lapu-Lapu are complaining about the extortion activities that are happening in their LGU, he said.
The mayor said that although Cebu City is not cited as among the most liveable cities in the county or the most competitive city, it does not mean that Cebu City is not the best place to live in the country.
He enumerated awards given by different agencies like the Galing-Pook Award, which was awarded by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo earlier this year for the 23,000 cases that were settled by the “lupons” of the barangays (villages).
Cebu City, the mayor pointed out, is best in investment promotions. “When it comes to investment promotions, we stand by our record,” Osmeña said.
Recently, the city became the only LGU out of 136 LGUs in region 7 that was cited by the Bureau of Local Government Finance as the best city in terms of fiscal management.
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