Demonizing Mike Rama

The rains brought by Typhoon Chedeng have prompted Cebu City officials led by Mayor Michael Rama to suspend indefinitely the clearing operations at the Mahiga River.

The rise in water levels in creeks and rivers clogged by illegal structures make these areas highly dangerous during the rainy season. The word from City Hall is that demolition operations will push once the weather improves.  Meanwhile, the local government will continue with dredging works in the river and other parts of the city as part of the LGU’s disaster preparedness plan. I hope this will mitigate the threatening situation in these areas.

The country is bracing for at least 20 storms this year. Global warming has somehow reduced the number but weathermen point to a wet season from now up to October. There is common observation that rains nowadays have become torrential. Even a downpour lasting only a few hours would cause severe flooding and nowhere is this threat more pronounced than in areas near creeks and rivers.

The scenario describes the situation near the Mahiga river but despite the life threatening situation, people do not want to leave. There are many reasons but mainly because their lives have become better after setting up houses around the area. Access to basic utilities like water and light and the relative ease in going to their places of regular work, or delihensiya if work is derived from other means may explain their unyielding position.

Unlike relocation, which oftentimes do not provide them with basic necessities and even hampers their mobility to work places, to continue living near the river, with all the threats that the rainy season brings on top of legal problems, still remains the better option, bahala na unsay mahitabo.

Mayor Rama is being demonized by the Mahiga creek controversy because he ordered the demolition minus a relocation plan and without consulting the affected city dwellers. There is a perception that Mike’s political rivals are trying to use the Mahiga issue for their political ends, but I think the silent majority is not buying the propaganda that they elected a salbahe to office. The majority of city dwellers may even be on his side after he demonstrated political will but it’s not as simple as that as Mike has found out by now.

Mayor Rama earlier said he does not want to provide relocation and financial assistance because that would promote squatting and amounts to rewarding illegal city dwellers. The latest word from City Hall is that hizzoner has actually come up with a relocation plan, but since this takes time and huge financial outlay, it can’t be ready just yet.

Rama should thank Chedeng for giving him time to step back and rethink the Mahiga demolition. As father of the city, the mayor can’t simply close his eyes on the plight of the informal settlers. Governance is the art of harmonizing diverse interests, and I hope Mike will be tutored by this controversy as he tries to think what is best for the city.

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At the conferment rites of the Dames of St. Sylvester last week, former Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal gave a critical assessment of the RH proposal even as he took a swipe at those who profess to care for the poor by supposedly empowering them through the RH bill.

The popularity of the RH bill rests on the misleading notion that the measure will enable people to “take control of their lives”. Because the Church is vehemently against it, people soaked in the freedom of choice culture think the bill would free society from Church interference. The end game is actually to exclude morality from our daily lives. This is a reflection of moral relativism, where people view anything as acceptable, morality as burdensome and religion as irrelevant.

Vidal continues to campaign against the measure despite old age and frail health but if one listens to Rep. Benhur Salimbangon (4th district Cebu), the voices of the pro-RH sectors in Congress may just be pure noise. Salimbangon, who has come out against the RH measure early this year, told this corner that there is growing sentiment in the House against the proposal.

According to the lawmaker, many members of Congress understand that contraception as a matter of policy does not benefit society, as can be seen in many countries in the west that uses taxpayers’ money to provide free contraception to citizens. Salimbangon said he does not think the RH bill will pass legislation.