TTagbilaran Mayor Dan Lim yesterday defended the demolition of illegal structures at the Causeway fish terminal and the Dao public market saying this is part of the continuing drive to instill order in the city. “The problem is we want progress but we are not willing to pay the price for it,” Lim declared in an interview yesterday. The mayor said the demolition of illegal structures at the fish terminal was “long overdue.” “The vendors were given a permit to build stalls to shelter them from the sun and the rain. They abused this by constructing permanent structures that are not related to the original intention,” he added.

Lim said that billiard halls, drinking pubs and video bars have sprouted at the fish terminal including a fish pen under a permanent structure. “They have turned the place into an entertainment area that has become a breeding ground for police characters,” the mayor added. Lim noted that intelligence operatives have monitored the movement of illegal drugs in the area “which is not surprising”. “The place has become a hub for people who have little respect for the law,” he added. The mayor disputed claims by vendors that he has no sympathy for the poor saying that what he saw are people who have all the time and the money to spend on their vices. “There are many poor people in the outlying barangays who never bothered the city and did not ask for special privileges like those at the fish terminal,” Lim added. He said that the irony of it is that many of those who resist the government's programs are people “who are not from Tagbilaran”.

Lim declared that he has long warned the occupants of the illegal structures but they did not listen because they did not believe the mayor will pursue the demolition. “This should be a warning to all who think I am afraid of the political consequences,” he added. The mayor said he has repeatedly declared that he is more concerned about history than about people who are only after their own interest. Lim stressed that he has always considered his position as a temporary covenant from the people which is renewable every three years. “I stake my performance every election because I believe our people know better than those who have a personal agenda,” he added. Lim said a leader should listen to everybody but he should be the one to make the final decision because he cannot please everybody. “There will always be critics no matter what you do. I would prefer that people criticize me for doing right than for doing wrong,” he declared.