NEWLY elected Lapu-Lapu City Lone District Rep. Cynthia “Cindi” King-Chan has filed two measures on the first day of the 19th Congress on July 1, 2022, and these are bills that seek to declare June 17 every year as a special non-working holiday in the city during its commemoration of its Charter Day and create a separate engineering office.Chan said it is only the Office of the President who can declare June 17 as a special non-working holiday in the city. She added she filed the measure upon the request of the City Government to allow residents to participate in the Charter Day activities.She said it is now time for the special non-working holiday to be set in stone through a law, 61 years after the enactment of Republic Act (RA) 3134, an Act Creating the City of Lapu-Lapu. RA 3134 was signed by President Carlos Garcia on June 17, 1961.“In so doing, the people of Lapu-Lapu City will automatically be given an opportunity to recognize the men and women whose hard work and effort continue to contribute to their city’s progress as well as allow them to take part in celebrating the city’s accomplishments while ruminating on its historic founding in 1961,” read a portion of Chan’s House Bill (HB) 739.Apart from that, Chan also proposed to create the Lapu-Lapu City District Engineering Office (LCDEO).She noted that the first-class and highly-urbanized city is currently served by the Cebu Sixth District Engineering Office of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), which also serves the municipalities of Cordova and Consolacion, and the city of Mandaue.The other reason for creating the LCDEO is Lapu-Lapu City’s separation from the sixth legislative district, which is now composed of Mandaue City, Consolacion and Cordova. Lapu-Lapu City became a lone district in 2009 by virtue of RA 9726.Chan said Lapu-Lapu City has a total population of 497,604 residents living in 30 barangays based on the 2020 Census of Population and Housing, which represents 46 percent or almost half of the total population catered to by the Sixth District Engineering Office.“With infrastructure development playing a key role in sustaining improvements in connectivity and transportation, overall production capacity, and income and employment generation, it is imperative that a separate and dedicated district engineering office be created for the City of Lapu-Lapu,” read a portion of Chan’s HB 731.HB 731 further states: “Through this, it is hoped that the important functions of the Department in terms of planning, design, construction and maintenance of infrastructure, especially the national highways, flood control and water resources development system, and other public works will be carried out more promptly and efficiently.”Chan has vowed to finish all the ongoing projects of former Rep. Paz Radaza during her term, including the road repairs since the people expect her to finish them all.