Eye on the spiritual

Last Sunday the Catholic Church celebrated  Palm Sunday which ushered in the Holy  Week. Wile many are planning a vacation during the long weekend, we should not lose sight of the  our spiritual duties in remembering  the Passion and Death of Jesus Christ.

We must embrace the legacy of  Jesus Christ who gave up his life for the salvation of the world. Let us join the new Pope Francis in prayers this week as we commemorate the suffering and death of our Lord.

Thank you, Lord Jesus, for giving us a humble and simple Pope who is very close to the people, especially the poor. The former cardinal of Argentina  exemplified simplicity by  taking the subway train and bus to his office, giving up his palace and renting a simple apartment and cooking his own food.

The  traits shown by Pope Francis are  contrary to the behavior of some priests and monsignori who live like kings. With Pope Francis at the helm, I hope church members close  ranks, especially with other sects raiding the flock and some Catholics leaving the Church to join other faiths.

Pope Francis  faces tremendous challenges in the Church especially the scandals committed by some religious leaders.  I hope he will confront these issues and put an end to them.

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I read last Sunday that a list of  P1.2 billion in proposed projects was submitted by our congressmen in Cebu city’s north and south districts. Basically the amount went to road widening and rainwater catch basins. By the way, no flyovers were proposed.

Most of the project proposals  were relevant and much needed by Cebu City, especially in traffic management and flood control.

With its  steadfast role, groups in  civil society have gained some headway as our congressmen now listen to them and especially to  urban planners who are experts in their jobs. The Movement for a Livable Cebu (MLC)  started the momentum calling for comprehensive  planning  in Cebu and to put a stop to the practice of congressmen implementing infrastructure in the city without consultation and planning.

I would like to think that the congressmen  learned their lesson of  the importance of public consultation in  good governance,  especially in spending their  pork barrel. The P400 million that rep. Tommy Osmeña gifted the first district of Cebu province could have gone a long way to fund projects  needed by the city, if only he had consulted the local government.

Unfortunately the gift was  given in exchange for support for the Liberal Party candidate for Cebu governor. But Rep. Eduardo Gullas  remains  committed  to support the candidacy of One Cebu’s Rep.  Pablo John Garcia for governor.

I hope that with the forthcoming widening of city roads, residents won’t park their cars or vehicles there.  Today you can  see many cars using our widened roads as  parking lots  in V. Rama Avenue, and in Banawa, Guadalupe.

Traffic enforcers should crack down on parking violators and teach these motorists  the discipline of finding the right space in private places or pay-parking zones.