Although visibly protected from potential deadly waves from tsunamis owing to its sheltered cove nature, Tagbilaran City is readying for a different kind of disaster and putting up evacuation centers is a priority this year.

City Mayor John Geesnel Yap, speaking at the Kapihan sa PIA Thursday revealed that in the pipeline is are evacuation centers in time of calamities.

On of such, the mayor in his Prospects for 2016 for Tagbilaran added, is the P60 million evacuation center that would double up as multi-purpose area and events center, which would soon rise near the City Hall.

The City government has yet to put up its official events center, considering that the atrium of the city hall has proven to be an insufficient area to hold such. Moreover, the City Hall atrium is not an appropriate evacuation center in times of calamities.

Elsewhere, the mayor, who came to the aired radio program with his executive assistant Matt Nemenzo and Laila Busano, also shared that the city has programmed three more similar infrastructure development in at least three more districts.

In 2016, the city government has pipelined the construction of multi-purpose covered courts in Dampas, Taloto and Ubujan, the youthful city chief executive bared.

Other than the obvious sports hubs which can be set up with these covered court projects, the infrastructure can easily be transformed to multiple use, depending in the need of the district, city hall project development sources also revealed.

As this developed, Yap, who is running for his second term this year also added that the city government has allocated P44 million for city school infrastructure.

These, he explained, includes the construction of more covered courts, gymnasiums and classrooms.

These too can be converted easily into safety hubs in times of disasters.

The programmed infrastructure spending, according to the city mayor, can only be possible with the city topping the region in efficient revenue collection of business and real property taxes, which he said, is assured that it goes to the city coffers and not into somewhere else.

In 2015, the city government attained P785 million in tax collections, reaping for the chartered city a first place for the region in tax collection efficiency, he said.

This year, the mayor openly hoped they can surpass the efficiency, as this should assure the people of Tagbilaran the funds needed to make the city as competitive in its business environment as its neighbors.

Key to that is basic infrastructure provision, business like operation of the city processes, low tax rates, the mayor summed. (rac/PIA-7/Bohol)