Mandaue City, Philippines – While Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes did achieve much during his first year in office, Representative Nerissa Soon-Ruiz (Cebu, 6th district) said the mayor still had many unfulfilled promises.
For one, most of the city’s streets are still dark at night.
“There were streets in Barangay (village) Centro that were lighted, but not the entire city,” she said.She said the Mandaue City Reclamation Area and upland barangays were just as dark as before Cortes took office in July 2007.
Soon-Ruiz, however, pointed out that Cortes did a good job in opening up night high schools, saying it was “an achievement.”
She advised the mayor to also continue projects started by the administration of his predecessor, former mayor Thadeo Ouano.
She cited the socialized housing project in Barangay Looc, which was started in Ouano’s term but was stalled under Cortes’ administration. Cortes earlier said he did not stop the project but put it on hold to correct deficiencies.
The congresswoman, who has announced that she may run for Mandaue mayor in 2010, also told Cortes to hear the plight of tricycle drivers.
“He should sit down with tricycle drivers and talk about their problems,” she said.
City Hall recently rerouted tricycle routes to decongest key city roads.
Soon-Ruiz, however, criticized Cortes for demolishing portions of the city plaza, which angered the City Council.
He also asked the mayor to tell the public how he spent the city’s P56-million Special Education Fund, which was set aside to address the low scores of Mandaue students in national achievement tests. |
