Partido Federal ng Pilipinas presidential candidate Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Saturday vowed to usher in the progress of big urban hubs like Cebu City as the center of economic development in the future.
“I think we can always count on Cebu to be the hub of economic development in the future,” Marcos told Cebuanos during his continuous “know-your-people’s-concern” consultation process with the various sectors across the country.
“I will serve the country and there is a saying that ‘when the water rises, all ships also rise. Let’s raise the Philippines, and one of the first cities in the Philippines to rise is Cebu,” he said.
Marcos stressed he has already a lot of plans for the province being the center for commerce in the Visayas region.
The former senator said he is planning to continue the development his father, former President Ferdinand Marcos, Sr., made, recalling the creation of the Mactan Export Processing Zone which he said is one of the main drivers of progress in Cebu’s economy.
“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 added.
The presidential aspirant emphasized that 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.
With his vision of unifying leadership, Marcos said he cannot address the problems alone which is why he wi
“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, even as he assured Cebuanos that he will do everything he can for them.