How will you address the growing insurgency problem, especially in Paquibato?
GARCIA: Address the root cause of insurgency, which is poverty. If you’ve been to Paquibato, you will see all the improvements we brought there. We gave them electricity. There were no roads, so we gave them those. We gave the people some opportunities. Ive been offering scholarships and some of those who availed were students from Paquibato. We also opened Paradise Embac as an annex to Paquibato National High School starting this June. We just have to give them opportunities. Send them to school, to high school, to college. After college, they can look for work and would be able to help their family. We’ve been offering scholarships to deserving students, even for the Lumads. We have a fund that we got from National Commission on Indigenous People. Just give them opportunities to improve their lives. Once they graduate, they will have a better chance of getting jobs. Once they have jobs, they can help themselves and their family. The city also has its programs to make life a little better for them.
Billy Aportadera. (davaotoday.com photo by Grace Uddin)
DUREZA: Instead of declaring an all- out war against insurgents, government should divert the funds used for military operations to poverty alleviation. Insurgency is a national problem but the only way to address the growing insurgency problem is by addressing poverty. From what I have seen in Paquibato and in other areas of our city, the people are so poor that the problem of insurgency continues. Government should address this problem by giving funds and capital that will allow small farmers to start businesses and improve their lot.
APORTADERA: The solution to the insurgency problem should be socio-economic, which means infrastructure should be set up that will link Paquibato to the mainstream. Paquibato should not remain isolated from the rest of the district. So if elected congressman, I will open Paquibato and link it to other political districts in the city. This will be one of my principal concerns.
BATUCAN: We should not use force against the rebels. The soldiers may all die but the rebels will still be there. We should offer an amnesty program and reform the rebels.
How are you going to improve the business climate in district two given the lukewarm attitude of some investors who perceive Mindanao as conflict zone and Davao as part of Mindanao?
GARCIA: I don’t think theres an image problem in the Poblacion areas in Buhangin, Bunawan and Agdao. Though investors might think twice about investing in Paquibato because of a perception problem, in other areas like Bunawan, the Swiss company Holcim has a big investment, so is the UniFruti factory. So, in Poblacion you wouldn’t think that there is a problem. But again what can we offer to the investors? We need to put up good roads because investors have to transport their goods. There has to be electricity before they can put up their packing house. We were able to widen the Davao to Agusan road.
Joel Batucan (davaotoday.com photo by Grace Uddin)
DUREZA: The problem is very far from Davao City. The conflict area is only in Central Mindanao. We cannot say that conflict continues to happen in the city because we continue in our struggle to achieve peace and order and that is in fact the main program of the city mayor, that he will provide peaceful atmosphere for the investors to go and we assure them to come to Davao City and invest. Our city officials will see to it that they are well-protected and will not be harmed in any way by bad elements because that is our program to provide peace and security for our safety.
APORTADERA: I think the mayor has done a wonderful job in sustaining and maintaining peace and order. It’s a question only of marketing, a question of projecting that the conflict is 200 or 300 kilometers away from Davao city. This is more of marketing and image problem because most of the datelines that come out in the media would be datelined Davao City although the conflict happens in Jolo, Zamboanga or somewhere in Surigao. The reporters are here in Davao and they report it from Davao, so this one should be corrected. Here in Davao, you can walk at night. They don’t have what we call fear. So we enjoy one basic right which is freedom from fear. I talked to a friend in New York, a lawyer, who said that in New York, you cannot walk without fear at night. In Davao City you can walk without fear at night. So that is the difference. To spur business activities, we have to have comprehensive programs. We have to turn Sasa wharf into a world-class wharf. There is a pending plan in NEDA that should be look into and accelerated. Remember that District Two is where the airport and the wharf are located, the links of Davao City to the outside world, so we should improve these facilities.
BATUCAN: Davao is very peaceful. We should help the Department of Foreign Affairs persuade the capitalists to come.
2007 Elections
