Tagbilaran Mayor Dan Lim Friday spelled out his priority programs that would require legislative support from city council. Lim identified his programs and concerns during his address before the Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) inaugural session presided over by Vice Mayor Nuevas Tirol-Montes. “As most beginnings go, we have our respective expectations from each other. This is significant especially in the light of what happened in the previous term. Instead of helping each other out, we engaged in an intramural that benefited no one but those who made headlines at our expense. Hopefully, we will learn from that experience enough to prevent it from happening again,” the mayor said. He immediately called the attention of the concerned committees to study his proposal for the possibility of making parents accountable for their refusal to send their children to elementary school. The mayor pointed out that the city government has appropriated a significant portion of its budget to meet the financial requirements of school children such as free uniform, free school bags and free school supplies.

“It is therefore unfair on the part of parents to deprive their children of the right to education for no reason except their own neglect. This piece of legislation, when approved, would send the message that while the city government is willing to go the extra mile for parents who do not have the capacity to provide for decent education for their children, we also do not countenance delinquent parents who teach their children to be mendicants and vagrants and eventually become the dregs of society,” he stressed. At the same time, the mayor said he wants to send the message to internet stations and amusement parlors that the city will strictly enforce existing ordinances regulating their operations. “There should be no allowances for minors to use their facilities during school hours and on school days. While delinquent students may try to look for ways to be absent from their classes, their delinquency should not be exploited by unscrupulous traders who make money from illegal and immoral means,” he added. Lim also requested the city council to pass the appropriate ordinances prohibiting smoking in all public places and closed spaces. “Aside from the Civil Service guidelines mandating the implementation of this law, this is also long-overdue as far as protecting the health of non-smokers especially those threatened by secondary smoke. It is quite late in the day but this is no justification to delay it even more,” he noted.

The mayor likewise sought legislation granting a grace period until December for those responsible for the construction and extension of new buildings without first securing the appropriate approval from city hall. “Those who fail to do so within the prescriptive period for whatever reason will be dealt with severely according to existing laws,” he warned. At the same time, Lim asked the council to address the concerns about the poor state of comfort rooms in both business establishments and government offices. He said there should be a law providing for the construction and maintenance of clean comfort rooms in business establishments such as restaurants and boarding houses. “The city can offer incentives for those establishments that adhere to government-prescribed facilities but penalize those that refuse to provide for them,” the mayor suggested. Lim told the council that they do not need to see things from the same perspective or do things from the same viewpoint but there should be no doubt that they should work together for the people. “They are the reason why we are here and they were the ones who gave us the mandate to be here. Let us not fail them because we owe them our positions to them and they deserve the best that we can offer together,” he concluded.