Political new blood

Last Friday the president appointed Mar Roxas to replace the late Secretary Jesse Robredo in the Department Interior and Local Government  to continue what Robredo started.

Roxas as we all know was not so prominent in the initial discussion of who would fill the vacancy.  But I think Roxas is a welcome appointment. He’s a  highly qualified and competent member of the Cabinet and an honest government official with the difficult task of filling Robredo’s  shoes.

Roxas left the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) to another competent and honest public servant,  Congressman Jun Abaya, a graduate of Annapolis Naval Academy in the US,  an engineer and an Ateneo law graduate. Now that both positions are filled up with new secretaries  it’s about time that we concentrate in delivering  services to the people. To the newly appointed secretaries I wish them good luck.

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Last Friday also the One Cebu party of the Garcias announced their vice gubernatorial bet,  Boboy Durano,  son of  Danao City Mayor Boy Durano.

I knew Boboy Durano when he was still a student at the University of San Carlos.  He is indeed a gentleman.  The last time I saw Boboy was at the 70th birthday of Vice Gov.  Agnes Magpale where we sat  beside each other.  Boboy Durano  is well mannered and very  qualified to become vice governor. It  is just unfortunate that he is running against his cousin Agnes.

There’s no question that both are qualified to serve as vice governor of Cebu as exemplified by the good performance of Magpale.  Cebuanos are fortunate that we  have  good material for the next vice governor whether it is Agnes Magpale or Boboy Durano.

Now that One Cebu has decided on its ticket,  the next question is what would be the option left for aspirant Glenn Soco?  Will he still run  for vice governor when the One Cebu slot was already given to Durano? Or would he entertain other posts like a seat in the Provincial Board or the mayorship of Mandaue city?

Running for PB member  may be an option but it would still be an uphill climb because Soco would  be up  against incumbent board members Arleigh Sitoy and Thadeo Ouano of the Liberal Party.  If he runs for Mandaue city mayor, he is up against the incumbent mayor Jonas Cortes.

I think Soco needs to do a lot of soul searching before deciding to run because the situation is  not in his favor. If Soco wants to run because he wants to serve the public, I think he can still serve  without seeking election.

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The flooding  in Metro Manila which left  mounds of garbage piled up in by rivers and creeks should teach us Cebuanos a lesson.

The proposed Cebu City ordinance banning the use of plastic on Saturdays is a good step towards helping  the  community address the problem of garbage disposal and flooding.

Quezon City is proposing  a total ban on the use of plastic but there’s resistance from businessmen engaged in plastic enterprises.

The other thing that can be done is to impose a heftier tax on the manufacture and sale of plastic. That way  not just anyone can make use of the plastic that has been identified as one of the causes of flooding in our country.

We need political will to eliminate the use of plastic in our community in order to save the  city and the people from further harm.

Companies or shopping malls who value  corporate social responsibility should voluntarily regulate or ban the use of plastic in their  business.