Presidential hopeful former Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos is strongly convinced that Cebu province will play a very significant role in the recovery of the Philippine economy, with Cebu City expected to become one of the country’s center of development in the future.
Marcos, official candidate of the Partido Federal ng Pilipinas, said his plans for economic recovery in the country include Cebu as the center for commerce in the Visayas region.
"I think we can always count on Cebu na maging (to be a ) hub ng economic development,” Marcos said.
It was his father, the late former President Ferdinand E. Marcos who created the Mactan Export Processing which has progressed into a major driver of development of Cebu’s economy.
He vowed to continue with the development plans his father initiated for the province and the whole of Visayas.
"If you remember, one of the main drivers of the progress of the economy in Cebu is the development of the port and I think we can continue that. Cebu is still the economic center of the Visayas and in some areas, it’s actually the economic center of the Philippines, so we must continue the development," he said.
"The big urban hubs will be the center of development in the future so Cebu being so prominent will certainly be a major part of that. It's important that Cebu is part of the plan because it has always had an entrepreneurial tradition. Cebu has a strong entrepreneurial spirit that we can take advantage of in making better deals with public-private sectors sharing," Marcos said.
According to him Cebu will play a major part in the recovery of the economy that suffered due to the COVID-19 pandemic that's why he also sees the need to address their problems which he said is "national in nature" like traffic, infrastructure, power and the pandemic itself.
Vowing a unifying leadership for the country, Marcos stressed that the Cebu city government will be given an important role to further develop the province to be able to return to its prominence, “not just as the second city next to Manila but as the former capital” of the country.
"We will have to work with LGUs to see what it is they plan to do when the time comes. Hopefully that we will be able to make some changes," he said.
Marcos assured Cebuanos that he will do everything he can for them.