A FORMER Mandaue City councilor and lawyer filed Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2021, his certificate of candidacy for mayor, posing a challenge to the reelection bid of Mayor Jonas Cortes in the 2022 elections.
Nilo “Olin” Seno filed his COC before the Mandaue City Elections Office on Tuesday afternoon.
Seno is supported by his running mate, former city councilor and retired PBA superstar Elmer “Boy” Cabahug.
With him were members of his slate: Editha Flores-Cabahug, JP Ceniza, Tony Dabon, Argie Remegio, Leo Saberon, Fritz Villamor, Jojo Bodo, Isko Ouano, Paulo Seno and Glenn Antigua.
Of his 10 councilor candidates, only Cabahug, Ceniza and Dabon are former councilors.
Seno clarified that they are yet to confirm the other two candidates who will run for city councilors and one candidate for Congress representative.
In a press conference, Seno said he and Cabahug, who have been friends since their elementary days, share a vision for a new Mandaue City.
“We call our group ‘Bag-ong Mandaue’ because we want to offer the people of the city a new face when it comes to local governance,” Seno said.
If elected, Seno said he and his group want to improve the City’s healthcare services, claiming that the current administration allocated only a small amount for healthcare when the pandemic began.
Seno claimed that Cortes’ administration failed to address the need to improve the city’s barangay healthcare centers which have limited medical supplies.
Seno claimed Cortes allegedly downgraded the services of barangay health centers that were improved during the time of former Mayor Luigi Quisumbing.
If elected mayor, Seno said he will not only improve the situation of barangay health centers in the city but will also establish a 24-hour pharmacy in every barangay to address the need for affordable medicines for indigents.
His health plans also include arming the barangay health centers with equipment, emergency vehicles and trained personnel so that patients with critical conditions won’t need to go far just to get an ambulance.
Seno said his group also hopes to improve the city’s “new normal” setup, particularly in the delivery of education and social services.
In the education aspect, Seno said they want to offer Mandaue City residents more affordable online education.
Seno said this will provide the residents with easy access to education particularly in this time of pandemic when face-to-face classes are still prohibited.
Senod added that they will also pay attention to the concerns of the senior citizens and provide ease-of-doing business for the city’s business community.
For his part, Cabahug said, he wants to offer more sustainable projects for the welfare of the informal settlers, not just extracting them from the area.
He said it is part of their platform to provide housing or lots for the informal settlers since he believes that they are also part of the community-building in the city. (KFD)