Bimbo’s defense

The Maker apologizes for not concluding his previous essay today as he promised. But he values family loyalty as most of us Cebuanos do. That conclusion is postponed for a future time. His brother Bimbo does not need any defending. But let the Maker do it even so. It would be strange if he did not. It would be unlike him.

Around 42 years ago, when he was 18 and the Maker was barely 10 years old, Bimbo was already dragging him to rallies and the slums. The older brother was “educating” him. Their mother, Consuelo, taught them a special respect and love for “the poor.” There had been times when the poor was all she had. They kept her and her family alive through the period of the Second World War. Still, one of their mother’s biggest frustrations was that Bimbo would rather be with the people than continue with his studies. He tried but his work always got in the way. It landed him in jail when martial law was declared. This brought a mix of feelings to Consuelo. She remembered the war. She was sad that her eldest son now lived in jail with common criminals at the provincial jail in Negros Oriental. But on the other hand, she was happy that at least she now knew where he was and that he was alive and safe.

After his release from jail, he continued organizing slum communities in Cebu and in various parts of the country despite the continuing martial law. Right after the People Power revolt, President Corazon Aquino appointed him to the Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor. He served in various capacities until he resigned five years later. He held the rank of undersecretary. But his family was in Cebu. That kind of work, he said, although cerebrally fulfilling does not have the joy of a face-to- face encounter with those who needed him. Besides, the Community Mortgage Program that promotes security of tenure for the urban poor was already in place.

So he was back to Pagtambayayong from 2000 to 2005 as the president of the foundation until he was appointed city administrator. He thought his stint would only be for a year but it came close to five years. He came to enjoy his job although it was very tiring. Still he felt fulfilled knowing “good governance benefits everyone but especially the poor who need good government the most.” He said he was honestly sad to offer his irrevocable resignation one month before his term was over to eliminate the pressure to retain him. “Mike Rama deserves his own city administrator.”

For one year he kept quiet about what went on at City Hall. He kept his peace until that incident at Mahiga Creek, when he heard that Rama was not giving the soon-to-be-demolished settlers any financial assistance unless they went to court.  Like all of us, Bimbo knew that despite our constitution, international and church laws, there is no way for the poor to go to the court by themselves. In Bimbo’s own words, “Many people consider squatters as thieves literally stealing lands from government and private landowners.”

This view is all wrong. “Humanism tells us that each person is bestowed with an inalienable dignity. This is recognized in practically all international covenants and by all religions. This is an assertion that is even stronger as a tenet of Christianity. “The world is made by God for all.” It is for this reason that Church encyclicals repeatedly teach that private property is endowed with a social function. There is clear logic in the principle that those who are more endowed with property and power ought to make direct contributions to ensure those who have less have at least a fighting chance to get more of those things they don’t have. This encompasses the opportunities to better themselves. To deny this from them, such as the act to uprooting them from where they are without benefit of assistance and relocation is an act of “robbing” them of a right endowed upon them by God, the law and plain human wisdom.

“What the people of Mahiga are asking for is the little that they are given under the Urban Development and Housing Act (UDHA). They are not advocating that they be allowed to stay beside the riverbanks forever. Living within the three-meter easement is dangerous for the residents and hampers dredging and other maintenance works. What Bimbo and the Mahiga Creek dwellers are asking for is that they be treated with respect and those who qualify for relocation be given the rights guaranteed to them by virtue of the law.

“I am happy that Mayor Rama seems to be finally admitting that he is in fact mandated by law to provide adequate relocation. Never mind if he claims that he always wanted to do this and was merely misquoted by the media.”

Bimbo is not worried about retaliations from Rama and his minions including Rocel, the new head of the city’s urban poor office. He said that in his younger days he faced many more enemies who were equally as vicious and even more powerful. His main defense had always been his conviction that he is on the side of good versus evil.

The Maker guarantees: his brother dreams of dying a martyr. Their mother bred them that way. (Editor’s Note:  Columnist Raymund Fernandez is the brother of Francisco “Bimbo” Fernandez, president of the Pagtambayayong Foundation and former Cebu city administrator.)