Cebu, the richest province with many poor people

No other province can beat Cebu both in assets and in numbers of voters. And by the way, for those who are not familiar, our beloved province, the cradle of Christianity in the Far East, is not only one big island but is composed of 167 surrounding islands and islets. Its capital, Cebu City, is the oldest city in the whole Philippines, and its Colon Street is the oldest street in the whole country. Cebu City is known as the Queen City of the South. Lapu-Lapu City is the prince, Mandaue City is the princess. But why are there too many poor people?

Today, the Province of Cebu is still the number one in terms of assets and number of voters. Cebu should be represented in the Senate, the Supreme Court, and in the Cabinet. The biggest mistake of this administration is to have ignored Cebu. Now that the country is preparing for a presidential election, national candidates suddenly become interested in Cebu. The president's father, Vicente Duterte was a true-blooded Cebuano, related to the Duranos because the wife of the late Don Ramon M. Durano, Sr. was Beatriz Duterte. And yet, the Duranos never supported the president in 2016. And the president has ignored the Duranos as well as Cebu. His party suddenly takes interest in Cebu only some months before the election.

Cebu was founded on August 6, 1569. Today, Cebu is represented in the House of Representatives by seven congressmen representing the provinces, plus two representing Cebu City, one each for Lapu-Lapu and Mandaue, respectively, or a total of 11 members of the legislative body. There is no Cebuano senator. Former senators Serging Osmeña, Rene Espina, Sonny Osmeña, Celing Fernan, and Boy Herrera have already died. Former senator Serge Osmeña is no longer running after a series of unsuccessful attempts. It is a pity that more than five million strong Cebuanos are not excluded from the Upper Chamber where there are too many actors and comedians instead. There is no Cebuano in the highest court of the land. Not even in the president's official family.

Based on the official COA report, Cebu is the unquestioned wealthiest province in the whole country for the sixth time already as of 2021. Cebu's total assets are a whopping ?203.9 billion, a giant leap from its ?35.65 billion assets in 2018. The marked surge was in fact, an amazing increase of 471.9%. No other province in the Philippines could equal, much less surpass this record. Before we applaud anyone for this fantastic feat, we should hasten to interject that the jump was not due to a massive asset acquisition, but rather to an upward valuation of Cebu's many real estate and other assets, especially those located in the city, where rapid development still continues to sizzle despite the pandemic and typhoons.

Cebu's dominance is even made more pronounced if we look at the provinces that follow our premier province, too distantly and remotely, like: 2.) Batangas, ?20.79 billion (Cebu is equal to 10 Batangas provinces); 3.) Rizal, ?20.28B; 4.) Davao de Oro (formerly, Compostela Valley where the gold bars are), ?20.10B; 5.) Bukidnon, ?18.29B (site of giant agri businesses like Del Monte and Dole Phils., etc.); 6.) Surigao del Norte, ?16.68B (site of many nickel and copper mines, etc.); 7.) Negros Occidental, ?15.9B (site of rich haciendas with millions of poor workers); 8.) Leyte ?13.54 (not because of Tacloban but because of the Tongonan geothermal source of energy); 9.) Palawan, ?13.04B (one of the biggest in areas with multiple mining and world-famous tourist sites); and 10.) Iloilo, ?13.03B (rich industrial and agri development).

In terms of number of votes, Cebu has 3.08 million voters, the biggest in the country, followed by Cavite with 2.15M. That is why, all of a sudden, BBM loves us, (Marcos lost tremendously to VP Leni and Speaker Alan here in 2016). Isko visits us too often, and Pacman claims that his father was from Aloguinsan. If we cannot discern all these, then we really have a problem.

The politicians should tell us, however, why the province and its leaders have become richer and richer, while the people continue to wallow in poverty. There is progress but no development. The fruits of wealth are not trickling down to the poorest of the poor. Sad.