No political agenda behind HUC bid says Tacloban mayor
By MELANIE L. BINGCO, ABS-CBN Tacloban | 09/12/2008 12:23 PM
Printer-friendly version | 
Send to friend | 
Share your views
TACLOBAN CITY – A congressional district for Tacloban City would be created if the city would succeed in its bid to be reclassified as highly-urbanized. Therefore an opportunity for a seat in the House of Representatives will be open.
This was when rumors started – alleging the city mayor has political ambitions to take the position, reason for the intensified campaign for highly-urbanized city (HUC) status.
Mayor Alfred Romualdez however was quick to dismiss the issue.
“There is no political agenda here, I just want to simplify things,” he said before 138 barangay chairmen who attended the city development council meeting.
Romualdez explained that he is finding it hard to address the city’s problems such as the problematic drainage systems causing floods in majority areas in the city, construction of farm to market roads and providing water supply. He said there are so many projects which are not under the city government’s hand but are in the provincial government, hindering therefore the city’s plans.
Citing the water supply problem, the mayor expressed his dismay that about 20 barangays in the city until now are not yet connected to the Leyte Metropolitan Water District that supplies water to the city.
“What they only give them are water tanks! This looks like an economic sabotage already,” said Romualdez.
He therefore made an appeal before the barangay chairmen present to support the move for reclassification assuring that it would bring in more revenues to the city.
“In 4 to 5 years, we will no longer depend on our IRA [Internal Revenue Allotment] share since this is very small for us. What is 30 percent? But if we are revenue-dependent then we could have more improvements for our city,” he said.
