Press Release
November 19, 2007

ROXAS, LOCAL EXECS PUSH FOR VIS-MIN AGENDA
FOCUSED, IMPLEMENTABLE PLAN TO COME FROM THE PEOPLE THEMSELVES

DAVAO CITY - Senator Mar Roxas and local government executives of key cities in Visayas and Mindanao took the cudgels to initiate a development agenda for Visayas and Mindanao, which has been neglected in the national development plan.

In an unprecedented meeting held in Davao City yesterday, Roxas, Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña, Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortez and Cagayan de Oro City Vice Mayor Vicente Emano, announced the beginning of consultations to formulate a focused and sustainable plan and "checklist" for the people of Visayas and Mindanao.

"Napakalaki ng kontribusyon ng Visayas at Mindanao sa kayamanan ng ating bansa. Sapat lang na magkaroon ng mas higit na focus, mas higit na concentration sa tulong na maibibigay ng national government dito sa Kamindanawan at sa Kabisayaan," he stressed.

"Really, the leadership here is not national government. The leadership here is at the local government level. It is not the national government who will be dictating to the local communities, it is the local communities who will be determining their vision for the future," he stressed.

Roxas announced that the first salvo of consultations for this development plan will happen in December in Cebu City, with Mayor Osmeña's efforts to conduct consultations with all sectors, and this will eventually be replicated to other communities in Visayas and Mindanao.

Mayor Osmeña said these consultations will be done so that a real development agenda will be developed, coming from the inputs of the people of Visayas and Mindanao themselves. He said the consultations in Cebu City will revolve around two questions: what they want Cebu to be after ten years, and what obstacles are there to achieving this goal.

"It's about time to make the government closer to the people, so we're doing our consultations sector by sector. It's not only to hear them but also for all the other sectors to hear each other and hopefully this will be the basis for an agenda that is acceptable to all," he said.

Furthermore, he stressed that the plan to be formulated should have implementable, specific and measurable goals down to the last number, rather than plain motherhood statements.

Mayor Duterte, who hosted the meeting, stressed that Mindanao is a "troubled land" and has a "history of injustice." Unfortunately, he said how leaders have traditionally been chosen is "all political," with no clear agenda for the people.

"We're trying to sound off this early what the people would want to happen in 2010. We must have a direction, where do we go from here?" he stressed.

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Vice Mayor Emano said it has been his crusade to bring Mindanao, which has been neglected in the national scene, back to the fore.

"It has been my cause and my crusade for a very long time, to try to undo the neglect here in Mindanao. Certainly, if there's a way where we can work with our brothers and sisters from the Visayas and with Senator Roxas, certainly it's a most welcome move," Emano said.

"If there's anyone who really knows what the problems are, it's the local officials, and they are the ones who could fight for us, for what we have always wanted for a very long time," he added.

Mayor Cortez agreed that this is one way of bringing the government closer to the people. "You cannot be effective servants if you cannot prepare a development plan responsive to the needs and demands of the people," he stressed.

Roxas said the country is in a bad shape, with half of the population saying they are poor and roughly a fifth saying they are not able to eat three full meals each day.

"Kung pasyente ito, nasa ICU tayo. Kung nasa ICU ang pasyente, importante na very specific ang mga gagawin ng mga nars at doktor, hindi puwede na 'I wish you would be well,' hindi puwede na puro salita lang eh," he said.

"As we look to 2010 and beyond, as we look at our country, we want to actually have an agenda, a checklist, that we will say this is what development ought to be, this is what actions, projects and programs ought to be, and this is what we will be doing for our people in the coming years," he added.

The local leaders added that with the next national elections in sight, such a development agenda must already be discussed for the sake of the people of Visayas and Mindanao.

"In our way of doing politics, we're always based on personalities. You cannot be President of the Philippines unless you know how to sing or dance. That's not what the country needs. The people want to know 'what's in it for us?'" Osmeña said.

"It's not only a question of politics or elections, it's a question of who can lead the country better and deliver to our people the many dreams they have been nurturing for so long," Duterte said.

The leaders stressed that while controversies sprout left and right in Manila, the problems besetting the people of Visayas and Mindanao must not be forgotten, especially as they provide a large contribution to the economy but until now are neglected due to structural and historical ills.

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