Cityhood: Cordova mayor not losing hope

CEBU, Philippines — Cordova, Cebu Mayor Mary Therese “Teche” Sitoy-Cho is not losing hope that the town will soon become a city.

Cho, in her second State of the Municipality Address last Saturday, said she aspires for the conversion of the coastal town into a highly-urbanized city.

“As I always say every year, our ultimate prayer is that in the not so distant future, we will celebrate our foundation day, not as a municipality anymore, but as a city hopefully. I always look forward to the day when I stand here in front of you to deliver the State of the City of Cordova Address. This is a dream no more. There is no stopping Cordova. We will be a city and together, we continue to soar higher and higher as far as our wings can take us,” the second-termer mayor said.

At present, the town is not yet qualified to become a city in terms of population, land area and income.

But once the town’s reclamation project and the third bridge are done, lawyer Jessica Banzon-Natadsaid said these will create economic boom in the town.

“So, we are towards that direction nga hopefully mahimo na gyud nga siyudad ang Cordova,” Natad, the town’s information and tourism consultant, told The FREEMAN.

Moreover, the mayor said 2020 was a “very challenging” year as most of the town’s resources were focused on fighting against COVID-19.

“We really do not know what will happen (this year). But we are ready. We should be ready. Our resources may be limited but we can do this. COVID or no-COVID, the fact remains that Cordova is one of the fastest growing municipalities in the Philippines. After the completion of the Sto. Nino Bridge, we shall be directly linked to Cebu City and our growth will be unstoppable,” she said.

For social services, Cho said the town has created the Child Rights Protection Unit and has allocated funds for the implementation of sustainable livelihood programs for the marginalized women, all out efforts to serve all those that were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, among others.

For health services, on the other hand, the town has acquired accreditation from the DOTS-PCB for its main health center and of its birthing center; and expansion of laboratory, dental and medical services.

She also reported that the town received donations of emergency vehicles from the Cebu Korean Association.

As for economic services, the mayor said that she will continue working on this with the goal of “promoting economic development in the town through doable programs and projects.”

“Our real estate tax collection has also been increasing and this means we still have budget for upcoming development projects,” the mayor said.

 For infrastructure projects, the mayor cited several road development projects, such as acquisition of lot and road right-of-way; and construction/repair/rehabilitation of public buildings, among others.

The funds for the infra projects were sourced locally.

For Peace and Order, Cho said the Philippine National Police has strengthened the implementation of intensified motorcycle patrolling against crimes transgressions in order to reduce crimes.

It also launched the Kabataan Kontra Droga at Terorismo and organized and trained the Barangay Peacekeeping Action Team. — KQD (FREEMAN)