Admired as a maverick in decision-making, Mayor Dan Neri Lim stands out from among his peers as a most unorthodox leader ever to call the shots at City Hall. Never the back-patting traditional politician, DNL figuratively buries his hatchet not from behind his adversaries, but eyeball-to-eyeball in a face-off that unnerves even the most impervious to intimidation. For him, a spade is always a spade at any time or clime. This straightforwardness is a strength emanating from his desire to do his job without resorting to circumlocutory innuendos for political ambiguity, which is often a ploy utilized by the less-endowed public figure.

DNL is not easy to catch for an ambush interview, one reason being his concerns that oftentimes bring him to Manila where projects metamorphose into reality. And when he does give you thirty minutes of his time, you can be sure not a single second is wasted to senseless banter.

LMP: You have proven your worth as a leader by means of your novel projects. What would you consider the centerpiece of your accomplishments in your first term as Mayor of Tagbilaran City ? Why?

DNL: Without equivocation, it is the implementation of the support for education to elementary school pupils and pre-school children. Since Year 1, we have distributed free school uniforms including shoes and bags and school supplies to all public school elementary pupils. Some of these children did not know how it feels to wear new clothes but they have experienced it twice in the last two years. Now they also know how it feels to have complete sets of new notebooks and pads of paper. It may not mean much to those who have much but it means so much to children who now feel that the government cares for them. It is more than just providing for their material needs, it is letting them know that the City Government loves them and is concerned about them. The application of the Multiple Intelligence approach in pre-school Day Care Centers is based on the same principle- to tell children that we are concerned for them and that we are providing them what they need. This is more than just a reassurance. It is a message to all our children that there is still in hope even in these difficult times. Our children should approach life with hope and optimism. Our society has suffered so much because of the pessimism and the despair of the older generations. It is time that we inspire our children to approach life with new vigor. This is the centerpiece not just for me but for all of us because our children are our hope for the future. We cannot do anything about the past and do little about the present. But we can do much about our future. If we do not invest in our children today, the future is bleak. Our children's future is as bright as the opportunities we provide to them today.

LMP: In your second term, name three of your priority projects and their significance.

DNL: Tagbilaran should initiate, not just react, to development. The City Government will implement an integrated Road Network. It will also construct the Big Bug to move closer to Tagbilaran's dream to become the center of cultural renaissance in the Visayas aside from being a convention capital. On top of this, the city will pursue its bid to become a major player in the call center industry along with other ventures to open livelihood opportunities.

LMP: The road network envisioned in the New Growth Center is a much-awaited shot-in-the-arm to trigger further development of the City. What is the status of the project? Will it materialize in the next three years?

DNL: It will be implemented starting this year. The road network cannot wait because the progress of the city is dependent on it. It was supposed to be implemented last year but we decided to prioritize the drainage system and concreting of the CPG Avenue . We were also unaware that the City Government had loan obligations amounting to P150-million. Before the project starts, we will pay all lot owners for lands to be used in the road network. The people should not subsidize the development plans of the city.

LMP: Everybody is sold to the idea (which originated from you many years ago) that, in order to decongest downtown Tagbilaran, what you then envisioned as Satellite City in the Dampas-Dao area would be the answer. Would the scheme to finish the Agora not run counter to this plan?

DNL: For the record, I have always opposed the rebuilding of the Agora. The Torralba administration, going against popular sentiment, started it. It is a damn if you do-damn if you don't situation. If we don't finish it, it is a black spot to the entire city, not just to the Torralba administration. As mayor, I have to solve all the problems of the city even if it is not my own making. At the same time, development in the Satellite City does not mean killing downtown Tagbilaran. The concept is to distribute development, not relocate it.

LMP: Is the plan to rehabilitate/finish the Agora a political decision?

DNL: The Agora has become a source of embarrassment to the city. The question is whether we will allow it to continue that way or deal with it. To rehabilitate the Agora is hitting two birds with one stone: we remove the eyesore while generating income from a dead investment. It is only political in the sense that good governance is good politics.

LMP: Everybody loves a winner. When you won in the last election, there were several individuals who made the impression that they belonged to your side of the fence, made manifest by their frequent visit to your office. It has been observed that they have dwindled in the succeeding months. Has this any bearing with the notion that you did not grant them favors?

DNL: I have always made it clear that as mayor I intend to unite the city as one family. I do not act on the basis of political affiliation. I tell those who claim to be on my side that if they want me to succeed, they should be models of sacrifice and not destroy me by taking advantage of their closeness to my office.

LMP: To the victors belong the spoils of war. Do you believe in this political battle-cry? Is it not possible this is one of the reasons why there are those who feel alienated from you?

DNL: Election to office should not be interpreted as a signal for opportunism. I have always advocated not just change but improvement. We will never improve if we merely replace the people who abuse authority and not remove the practice of opportunism. If there are those who feel alienated because they did not get favors from me, I cannot do anything about that. I do believe that in the long run they will be convinced that this is the right thing to do if we want progress for all and not just obscene wealth for a few.

LMP: Your unorthodox campaign strategies in the last election amazed even the skeptics. Will there be a replay of the same approach?

DNL: We live in a changing world. We need to respond to changing conditions if we want to be relevant. The past gives us lessons to learn from but we need to set our sights on the future. Those who resist change will never grow.

LMP: Some people credited your success in the last polls to the split of the Torralba- Cabalit tandem. Will the Cabalit group support you this time?

DNL: It is unfair to the voters of Tagbilaran to limit the result of election to the political equation of the Torralba-Cabalit group. The support of any group, not just the Cabalit group, is welcome. But it should be support based on principles, on commitment to progress and development, on the need for unity to achieve our goals and dreams. It should not be support only for the purpose of winning the election. The people of Tagbilaran deserves more than that.

LMP: Also amazing in the last polls was your being an opposite without a solid slate. Do we expect the same scenario this year?

DNL: I would like to see myself more as an independent than an oppositionist. I won as an independent although my personal views were critical of the administration. The scenario then is different to what we have now. We need to respond to changing conditions. I can work with anybody who is willing to set aside personal interest for common good. We can fight each other during election but this is only temporary. In basketball, this is just a time-out. The real game starts when we start working after the election.

LMP: Your one-on-one with Joe Torralba is the talk of the town. Do you feel that this time you have the advantage?

DNL: Advantage in an election is a perception that is validated only after the winner is

declared. If there is any advantage that I have, it is to show what I can do in two (2) years compared to what he can show for fourteen (14) years. In this one-on-one, it is a choice that the people of Tagbilaran will make. If you want traditional politics where family and relatives are given juicy posts, where political lieutenants are rewarded with appointments to sensitive positions, where laws and rules are disregarded for the right consideration, then you deserve each other. But if you want direction, concrete goals and visions, dynamism, implementation of the law regardless of who gets hurt and political will, then we can work hand in hand for the progress of Tagbilaran.