The Queen City of Sustainability

At the rate Cebu City’s leaders and dynamic stakeholders are preparing the people and the economy  for the inevitable transition to a post-carbon era, I predict that Cebu City will be known as the Queen City of Sustainability. The city government’s vision is, after all, to make Cebu City “the most livable city for all.” (www.cebucity.gov.ph)

Cebu City is bent on instilling in its constituents responsibility for  waste through the strict implementation of the “no segregation, no collection” policy. Its 10-year solid waste management plan is being reexamined.  Composting will become a regular household and office undertaking, with nightly orientation seminars in the sitios. The proper management of household hazardous waste is seriously looked into, beginning with the workshop conducted last June 10 and June 11, a feat, by the way, that no other LGU has  done. Its Station of the Trees, launched in Guba last April, has become a “Tree for Life and Tree for Education” program where schoolchildren become stewards of the endemic species of trees planted by the urbanites. They are rewarded with school materials and the opportunity for their barangay to be adopted as learning centers of universities. In addition, Cebu City’s sustainability ordinance will see the light of day with its implementation.

Kilometers of bike lanes, wide sidewalks, car-free streets, and more  green buildings plus the much-awaited Bus Rapid Transit system in the near future will clinch its leadership position as the most livable metropolitan area in the country.

The unprecedented closure of Osmeña Boulevard for a day awakened citizens and families to claim their  forgotten space and non-negotiable right to breathe fresh air, participate in the decision-making process and be freed from the emissions of polluters. The people  are fed up with the toxic gases  enveloping the metropolis due to the non-enforcement of the Clean Air Act, the unmeasured state of pollution due to failure of the LGUs to  buy the necessary equipment, the still-unregulated entry of second-hand vehicles and devices which are considered  waste in the exporting country and the appalling failure of the Metro Cebu Air Shed Board to live up to its mandate to be a genuine policy-making body in air quality management.

The launch of the Road Revolution, a  political movement for a sustainable way of life, has inspired authorities and civil society leaders to try to make streets car-free such as the historic Colon and in other cities like Dumaguete. It is an honor to share excerpts from the uplifting statement of Tony Oposa, Jr., the brain of the Road Revolution, on its significance:

“We thank the City of Cebu for its support in the initiative to give the people of Cebu a taste of the freedom of open space, clean air, and a restored sense of community. The closure of the Osmeña Boulevard last June 12 was nothing less than historic. It was the first time that Filipinos in general, and Cebuanos in particular, started the spark of a mind-shift in the use of public space and of the road and transportation system.

“We thank the people of Cebu for their expression of support. May we ask them to convey their support to the City Councilors of Cebu. Their addresses and other contact details will be made available through our website, roadrevolution.ph and through our Facebook account, www.facebook.com/RoadRevCebu.

“We especially call on the young people whose minds are still open and un-encrusted by the bad habits of the present system.  Please make your voices heard through the electronic, social and conventional media. The needed change will happen in your generation and because of your efforts. When the people lead, especially the young who make up the bulk of the voters, the leaders will follow.

“We also thank those who critiqued the idea and commend them for their suggestions.  Rest assured we have taken note of the suggestions and will incorporate them…

“The present road and transportation system has become unbearable and unacceptable.  We must find an alternative. If anyone has a better idea on how to unclog, organize and democratize the use of the roads, how to clean the air, how make travel more efficient and less expensive and less dependent oil, how to restore the sense of community among our people and how we reduce hunger in our midst, please come forward… While waiting for other suggestions, if any, however,  we are  proposing an alternative manner of multi-modal transportation and locomotion system. It follows a simple principle that ‘Those who have less in wheels must have more in roads.’

“For this purpose and pursuant to the power of the people to propose an ordinance per Sections 120-127 of the Local Government Code (Rep. Act 7160), we have submitted a petition to the City Council… Generally, the proposed  ordinance, which the local government must act on within 30 days from our filing last 13 June 2011, seeks to separate the road space into four parts: sidewalks, bike lanes, collective transport system (e.g., BRT or other collective and non-polluting transport system) and an edible garden/greenbelt.

“We look forward to hearing from all concerned, whether pro and anti. Particular mention is made of the transport sector. They are not part of the problem; rather they are an integral part of the solution. We wish to engage everyone in this movement. This is not only about cleaning the air and reducing our carbon emissions. It is also about restoring the sense of community among a people, about creating the much-needed open space in a place as crowded as Cebu, about promoting a healthier lifestyle by walking, cycling and about showing the world how to get out of the present inefficient, undemocratic and utterly wasteful transportation system.  Cebu has taught the country and the world how to go about it using the two most effective teaching methods:  By Example and by Experience.”

The closure of Osmeña Boulevard last Sunday, June 12 was only the beginning. Big social movements do not happen overnight. But with the continued support of the City Council, the political leadership, and the body politic itself, the people, Cebu will lead the way.

Oh, by the way, one of the critics suggested that those who do not want pollution must live in the moon. I was so excited I immediately called up my travel agent.

Mahal pa kuno ang plete.