Local involvement

It’s a three-ring circus in Cebu City when it comes to both politics and projects with Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama on one side, the City Council on the other and Rep. Tomas Osmeña of Cebu City’s south district in the corner.

Okay, make it a two-ring circus because Osmeña, the former-mayor-turned-congressman, pulls the council’s strings whichever way he pleases, a fact only someone who bothers reading the papers and monitors the local news knows.

While Rama and the Osmeña-influenced City Council don’t see eye to eye on many  issues, things come to a head when it comes to government projects and the budget deliberations.

Take, for example, the council’s insistence that they be included as part of the technical working group (TWG) for the proposed Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system for the city.

While their involvement may ensure transparency insofar as the allocation of funds and the BRT project’s implementation are concerned, Rama had a point when he said the funds to be allocated will be sourced from a loan to be obtained between the city and an international funding institution.

As such, the fund allocation may be coursed through national government agencies, which have the Commission on Audit (COA) looking over their shoulders to see how the funds will be spent.

Coincidence or not, the Movement for a Liveable Cebu (MLC) called on the TWG to avoid routing the buses through historical streets and avenues like Osmeña Boulevard. Under the BRT system, platforms will be built to accommodate the buses similar to what’s done in Bogota.

That setup may have prompted the group to speak out on the BRT in much the same way that they opposed the flyover projects of the Del Mars. That flyover feud also prompted Rama to ask the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to coordinate with the city government in the implementation of projects in the city.

In both the BRT and the flyovers, the insistence for local involvement have been emphasized. Both are correct and in fact should be emulated by local government units (LGUs) across the country so there won’t be any conflict with the affected communities, among other reasons.

Yet local involvement can deteriorate into a clash of political differences as shown in Cebu City, turning off national government agencies whose imprimatur the LGUs need to get their respective projects off the ground.

Both the BRT and the flyovers are still pending in development hell precisely because of these bickerings. The Cebu City residents can only reasonably hope, nay perhaps even register their strong voice on what their local officials are doing and tell them in no uncertain terms to get their act together.