Cebu solon’s dev’t assistance program goes into high gear

CEBU — People in Cebu’s first district can expect to see improvements in their lives this year when Rep. Jose Gullas’ four-pronged program of development assistance goes into high gear.

The program, whose initial phases were launched last year, is intended to address four basic concerns which Gullas has identified as most pressing in his district.

These concerns focus on health, education, water and electrification, and alternative sources of livelihood.

Gullas said medical missions which seek to compliment services already provided by the national or local governments have been scheduled to reach even remote areas in every town in the district.

Last December, an exploratory medical mission composed of doctors and nurses from the Vicente Gullas Memorial Hospital and College of Medicine administered to the health needs of hundreds of residents at the Carcar Central School and distributed a hundred thousand pesos worth of medicine.

Gullas also distributed half-a-million pesos worth of medicine to Talisay City and P250,000 worth of medicine each for Minglanilla and Naga in the aftermath of typhoon "Nanang" late last year.

On Jan. 26, the first medical mission for this year will be in Sibonga.

For education, Gullas intends to expand the non-formal computer education course he launched in Minglanilla last year.

The course, which runs for seven Saturdays, had an initial 50 graduates from Minglanilla. This year, the program will be introduced in Carcar to serve residents of the town and those from nearby San Fernando and Sibonga.

Technical courses such as high-speed sewing, carpentry and basket-weaving are being offered to high school seniors in Talisay and Minglanilla.

Gullas said he will also start addressing the concern of most barangays in the district, which is the lack of access to clean water and rural electrification.

In a series of meetings with barangay heads, Gullas learned that the most pressing need of many barangays in Sibonga and Carcar is access to clean water and many of them have requested for water pumps.

Gullas said part of the problem stemmed from the disabling, during typhoon "Nanang" late last year, of a pipeline that supplied water from Barangay Kalinggan in San Fernando to Barangays Buenavista and Balungag in Carcar.

Repairing the pipeline will cost at least P1 million and Gullas hopes to provide the funds in March.

Gullas has also tapped second engineering district head Marlina Alvizo to improve the water system in these barangays.

He has also met with Ed Satina of the Cebu Electric Cooperative to handle the electrification concerns of the district.

Gullas also envisions goat-breeding as a viable alternative means of livelihood and will open this year a farmhouse in Pangdan, Naga where Anglonovian goat-breeding will be taught. — Freeman News Service