Province signs MOA with several groups

CEBU, Philippines —  The Cebu provincial government has signed agreements with various government and non-government agencies that will eventually lead to efficient utilization of the province’s resources.

In a ceremony witnessed by Vice Governor Hilario Davide III and the Cebu Provincial Board members, the province signed the Deeds of Usufruct between Cebu Province and Cebu Medical Society, Population Commission, Girl Scouts of the Philippines-Cebu and Integrated Bar of the Philippines - Cebu.

Governor Gwen Garcia also signed the Memorandum of Agreement between the Province and National Food Authority and another MOA between the Province of Cebu and the Department of National Defense - Armed Forces of the Philippines on Visayas Command land swap.

The governor also signed a sisterhood agreement with Zamboanga Sibugay represented by Governor Dulce Ann Kintanar Hofer.

According to Sugbo News, the official Facebook page of the provincial government, the sisterhood agreement will maximize the promotion of culture, commerce, tourism, environmental preservation, and governance for both provinces.

As a sign of good will, Cebu Province will construct one tourist rest area in Zamboanga Sibugay in a place to be determined by the latter.

Hofer, who was born and raised in Cebu, expressed excitement and optimism that the pact would bring gains for her young province in the Zamboanga Peninsula.

Hofer said that the significance of the sisterhood cannot be overstated and it will open up a world of opportunities for them to learn from one another.

Garcia, who is celebrating her birthday, considered it a birthday gift to have forged a win-win partnership with Zamboanga Sibugay, an emerging tourism destination in Mindanao, ripe in economic potentials and a vibrant Cebuano-speaking populace.

The governor also signed a MOA with Acciona Energia Global which paves for “a tentative unsolicited proposal for a 150-Megawatt Solar Power Plant Project” to be potentially built in Daanbantayan, Cebu through a special purpose vehicle that would be created for the purpose.

The MOA stated that the construction of the 150-Megawatt Solar Power Plant Project could greatly improve the power supply in the Province of Cebu and avert the projected power shortage that the province may experience in the future.

“Subject to further discussion and reaching a definitive agreement, the development and construction of the 150-Megawatt Solar Power Plant Project would be undertaken at no cost to the Provincial government and, once implemented, would provide income to the Province from a percentage share of Freya’s revenues from electricity sales,” a statement read.

Furthermore, an official replica of the “oldest” scientific map of the Philippines dubbed as the Murillo Velarde 1734 Map, has been given as a gift to the Cebuano people by businessman Mel Velasco Velarde.

The 1120 x 1200 mm. map called “Mother of all Philippine Maps” was first published in Manila in 1734 by the Jesuit cartographer Fr. Pedro Murillo Velarde, the first scientific map ever produced depicting the Philippine archipelago.

This map was used by the Philippines in asserting its sovereign rights in the disputed territories of the West Philippine Sea before the Permanent Court of Arbitration, where the Philippines demonstrated that not only did it have legal bases for its claims, but also historical rights vested by the map which recognized as early as 1700s, that the Kalayaan Group of Islands and Scarborough Shoal are part of the Philippine territory.

“This is to award the Province of Cebu for the role it played in the past 500 years,” said Velarde, who was born in Oslob, Cebu in his speech. (CEBU NEWS)