Davao City needs fixing, says mayoral candidate Nograles
DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 9 Oct) – There are so many things in Davao City that need fixing, according to former Civil Service Commission (CSC) chairman Karlos Alexei B. Nograles, who is gunning for mayor in next year’s elections opposite former President Rodrigo R. Duterte.
Nograles told reporters on Tuesday that the city’s severe traffic congestion and flooding are among the many problems confronting Davao that need to be addressed immediately.
He said that based on the assessment conducted by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) on the flooding situation of Davao, the government needs to set aside a budget of P27 billion for short-term and P67 billion for long-term solutions.
He acknowledged the need to seek help from the national government to allocate funds for flood control here.
But Nograles added that, according to JICA, the local government also needs to contribute P8 billion for drainage improvement in the short-term and another P8 billion in the long term.
He said that the local government is financially capable of funding flood control projects.
“Unya dugay man daghan kwarta ang Davao City (Davao City has a lot of money for a long time). We have the local development fund, we even have the local disaster risk reduction management fund na pwede nating gamitin para ayusin ang mga pagbaha sa Davao City (that we can use to fix the flooding problem of Davao City),” he said.
The mayoral candidate said that as the premier city of Mindanao, Davao also needs to catch up with the services offered in other highly urbanized cities like Makati, Quezon, Taguig, and Valenzuela, particularly maximizing the use of technology to improve the delivery of services of the local government.
“How can we not catch up? Bakit hindi pa tayo sa level na ganyan na pwede naman, kaya naman. It’s just that we just have to give it a chance. Kung gusto gyud nato, it’s really up to us, naa na sa tawo, naa sa katawhan, naa sa inyong kamot, kung gusto ninyo (If we really want it, it’s really up to us, it’s up to the people, it’s in your hands, if you want) I’m here, offering myself,” he said.
The 48-year-old politician filed his certificate of candidacy (COC) at the office of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) at Magsaysay Park on Tuesday, accompanied by his family and supporters. His running mate is Bernard Al-ag, incumbent councilor of the first district.
Nograles served as first district representative of Davao from 2010 to 2018, appointed cabinet secretary by former President Duterte from 2018 to 2022, and CSC chairperson from 2022 until his resignation on Oct. 7, 2024.
Meanwhile, Nograles’ younger sister, Puwersa ng Bayaning Atleta (PBA) partylist Representative Margarita Ignacia B. Nograles filed her bid for this city’s first district representative against Rep. Paolo “Pulong” Duterte.
“It’s up to the people to decide. That’s why we have an election because it’s a democratic process. The important thing is that we respect the right of every voter to vote in this election. If it’s an election and yet you don’t have any choice, then this is not a real election,” he said. (Antonio L. Colina IV / MindaNews)
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