ROXAS GRACES SINULOG FESTIVAL IN CEBU CITY
PUSHES VIS-MIN DEV'T AGENDA IN MEETINGS WITH LOCAL OFFICIALS

Senator Mar Roxas is attending one of the biggest festivals in the country this weekend in honor of the Sto. Niño - the Sinulog Festival in Cebu City.

"The vibrancy of Philippine culture is hallmarked in these celebrations. It shows how our people, despite trying and desperate times, hold on to their faith and celebrate life," he said.

"They give us a chance to engage with our kababayans: to celebrate their joys and their passions with them, and even to be with them in their lowest moments," Roxas, the Liberal Party President, said.

Roxas also plans to take advantage of the opportunity to consult with the local leaders on the formulation of a Visayas-Mindanao Development Agenda. The Senator arrived in Cebu Saturday evening and will be meeting with local government officials and members of the media.

"Up till now, economic power has been centered in the National Capital Region, to the exclusion of the provinces. Creating a Vis-Min agenda will focus on the strengths of each local government nationwide, for the benefit of each one," he said.

He said it is important for leaders?from the provinces down to the municipalities?to engage in consultations with their stakeholders on how they would like to see their community progress in the medium-term and what enterprises or industries to be established are best suited for their needs.

Roxas noted that he had already discussed the Vis-Min Development Agenda with leaders of Cebu and Davao last November, and urged more in-depth consultations, to know the people's pulse. He said dialogues with local leaders will also allow him to know what he can do, in his capacity as a national leader, to pull in resources from the center down to the countryside.

"Our ability to attain progress and to sustain this progress needs both a sound local and national policy, with emphasis on independent and accountable local communities backed with a center mindful of their peculiar needs," he said.

At Roxas' table at present is a proposal to suspend the value-added tax on oil products to provide relief amid constricting purchasing power of the people. This will then be followed by the pouring of resources earmarked to education and healthcare needs of the people, through his proposed People's Fund bill.