Clear the creeks

The scene of Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte punching a court sheriff after he refused her plea for a two-hour grace period to dialogue with squatters before a demolition strikes a chord not just among Davao City residents but in other urban poor sites, particularly in Cebu City where the city government is dealing with its own problem of illegal settlers in Mahiga Creek.

Unlike Duterte, however, it is the City Council that has taken the cudgels for illegal settlers in Mahiga Creek while Mayor Michael Rama assumed the thankless job of clearing the creek of their shanties.

Duterte had no business mauling an officer of the court even if it made her look like a hero in the eyes of the squatters. A mayor is supposed to uphold the rule of law, not give it a black eye.

Cebu city councilors didn’t have to slap around the demoliton crew. They had a partymate and his foundation go to court to seek a restraining order. The judge didn’t agree though.

Duterte’s fist demonstrated her own governance style. Thankfully, that’s not how Cebu city officials handle their frustration.

With the onset of the rainy season, street flashfloods in Cebu and Mandaue cities drive home a crucial point: Flooding and the presence of illegal settlers in creeks and rivers, obstructing the path of storm water, are an inseparable fact of urban life that should be resolved by local officials.

Serious flashfloods are unheard of in Davao City, until this month’s torrents forced city officials to take a closer look at the link to riverside dwellers.

Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri said tougher laws are needed to enforce the ban on living in creeks and rivers otherwise such illegal activities would drain the city’s calamity funds.

It’s a familiar chain of events – settlements in creeks and rivers increase domestic pollution and obstruct water flow, that in turn constricts channels for drainage, pushing storm water back to the city streets.

Cebu Judge Soliver Peras put it bluntly when he said that the displaced families from Mahiga Creek “should go back to where they came from.. They don’t even have to be relocated.” He was referring to the original hometowns of the settlers in the province.

BO-PK councilors and their chief, Rep. Tomas Osmeña, insist that relocation and aid be given to the urban poor settlers and Mayor Michael Rama has met them halfway.

But the message still remains: Creeks and rivers should be permanently cleared of obstructions to prevent floods –– settlers, shanties, commerical establishments alike.

We hope the council, which chose to ignore this problem for decades for fear of losing voters, sticks to the priority and works with the mayor in getting things done.