Rep.-elect Alfredo Marañon III stakes his oath as incoming representative of the 2nd District before Judge Reginald Fuentebella as his family looks on.*CPG photo
Rep.-elect Alfredo Marañon III said his priority agenda is to spur the economic growth of the 2nd District of Negros Occidental and of the residents of Cadiz City, Sagay City and the municipality of Manapla via the CaSaMa District Development Alliance (CDDA).
The Sagay City mayor made the promise in his speech following his oath taking as the incoming representative of the 2nd District before Judge Reginald Fuentebella at the Taliambong Activity Center in Sagay City on Saturday, June 11.
“CaSaMa will pave the way for more businesses to open and more livelihood opportunities for a potential labor force of 300,000 from Sagay, Cadiz and Manapla,” he said.
Marañon said he will champion the passage of a bill in the new Congress for the establishment of the CaSaMa Development Authority.
It will primarily promote more synergy among the three LGUs in the implementation of infrastructure programs such as affordable and convenient accessibility to and from farms, schools, tourism areas, industrial and business zones and key logistics hubs such as ports, terminals, transloading stations, cold storage facilities, slaughterhouses and processing plants, he said.
It will also ensure the availability of logistics, utilities and services to meet the needs of business, agri-fisheries and industry in the 2nd District, he said.
“Under the ‘new normal’, it is time to move forward and re-channel our focus on the need to take action in pursuing our economic recovery plan. We have to learn to co-exist with COVID but with extra care,” he said, adding that CaSaMa is the brainchild of outgoing Rep. Leo Rafael Cueva.
ECONOMIC ZONE
Marañon said he will also push for the establishment of the Sagay City Economic Zone.
It has already been approved by the Philippine Economic Zone Authority and a local economic zone authority will be operationalized very soon, he said.
The initial 25-hectare prime property in Barangay Paraiso under the eco-zone is now ready to take in locators who wish to invest in agriculture, food processing and manufacturing, other light industries and even those who wish to invest in the Business Process Outsourcing sector, among others, he said.
The Sagay eco-zone has enough provisions for unimpeded growth and may be expanded up to 140 hectares, he said.
Locators will benefit from attractive tax breaks being offered by the LGU as thousands of employment opportunities await not only the ready skilled labor force from Sagay but also from Cadiz and Manapla as well, estimated earlier at a 200,000 potential labor force, he added.
SAGAY PROJECTS
Up for completion soon is the Feeder Port in Barangay Old Sagay, which will increase activities between Sagay and nearby economic centers in the Visayas, he said.
He said among the other flagship programs completed under his administration are:
- The opening and operation of the Alfredo E. Marañon Sr. Memorial District Hospital;
- Renovation of the Sagay Public Plaza, Sagay City Public Bus Terminal, and Sagay City Gym;
- Construction of a trading center for small farmers and ambulant vendors;
- Construction of a tricycle terminal and the installation of streetlights in the barangays; and
Establishment of a 3-hectare high value crops farm in Hda. Ricky with a production of 37,213 kilograms of assorted vegetables and serving 20 barangays. Marañon, in an interview, also said he will join the push for the reactivation of the Negros Island Region, and since Negros is the number one producer of sugar it would be fitting that the Sugar Regulatory Administration be headed by a Negrense.