Rep. Gullas to push for medical center, college

CEBU, Philippines - As Carcar City celebrated its third charter day yesterday, Rep. Eduardo R. Gullas assured residents that he had filed several bills for Carcar.

Topping the list is the declaration of July 7 of every year as a “non-working holiday” for Carcar City for its charter day anniversary.

This way, it would no longer be necessary for the Carcar City chief executive to issue a memorandum order for the local holiday.

Moreover, Gullas assured Carcar that he will file this July 26 separate bills for the creation of a 300-bed medical center, and a state college.

Carcar now has a district hospital but instead of turning it into a provincial hospital, he wants to make it into a medical center so it could get funds not only from the Province but also from the National Government. It was he who authored the law creating the said district hospital during the 7th Congress.

As for the state college for Carcar, he said it will be patterned with the San Fernando State College and that of Sibonga’s.

Before his term ends, he targets to have all the six local government units in his district to have their own public colleges.

Talisay City already has a city college while Naga is already preparing for its own, which is set to start next year. Minglanilla will also follow shortly after that, he said.

If plans push through, Carcar will also have its own Regional Trial Court (RTC) and a Municipal Trial Court in Cities (MTCC) as Gullas filed separate bills for these.

Aside from that, the first district congressman also filed for Carcar House Bill 528 or Carcar City’s Cultural Heritage Act of 2010.

Carcar, which is on the southern part of Cebu, is considered the heritage city of the province. It is home to various Spanish and American period structures.

At its plaza is the Church of St. Catherine of Alexandria which was erected in 1876, and just a walking distance away are the many centuries-old houses, which include among others the famous Balay Na Tisa that was built in 1859.

At the center is the colonial-inspired kiosk or the rotunda, considered the city’s landmark.

Once it becomes a law, HB 528 will ensure that these historical sites will be protected.

Gullas filed a total of 27 bills at the first working day of the 15th Congress. The lawmaker announced these before thousands of Carcar City residents and officials during the charter day celebration yesterday at the city gym.

Carcar became a component city in July 1, 2007 but the council approved a resolution changing the commemoration to July 7, 2007, or 7-7-7 for “easy recall.”

It was Gullas who authored Republic Act 9436, the Carcar Cityhood Law. — THE FREEMAN