Barangays and clogged waterways

It’s difficult to understand why those who live in or around Cebu City’s waterways refuse to budge when told to move out.

Riverside residents in barangay Kalunasan ought to have realized the urgency of transferring after 11 shanties collapsed when the water level rose during a heavy downpour last July 20.

City Hall’s clearing operations have been met with similar obstinacy by residents like Baltazar Caburnay, who insist that they have nowhere else to go.

How can the city government make illegal settlers in the 3-meter easement zone realize that the choice is not between being swept by floods and living in misery in the streets, but between drowning and staying alive?

Something is amiss in the government’s message if it has failed to get a much-needed exodus from the waterways going.

Social justice won’t be served if the government’s target is simply to evict dwellers, who would feel deprived of their last stab at a decent life.

City Hall has to muster the political will to provide a viable relocation site or opportunities for affected settlers to return to their hometowns.

What became of the “Balik Probinsya” program where the mayor and former Cebu governor agreed to pursue joint efforts to arrange the return of urban poor settlers to the countryside, hopefully with better prospects of livelihood?

How successful was the Cebu city government in physically clearing the 3-meter easement zones of rivers and creeks in the last three years?

Was this project another one that lost steam like the no-waste-segregation, no-collection policy?

Councilor Dave Tumulak pointed out something important when he said he was ready to hale to court barangay captains who won’t cooperate in clearing the waterways.

These houses and other structures flourished on site under the noses of these officials. One way or another, they are just as responsible for clogged waterways that occurred under their watch.

With barangay captains and aspirants running in the October barangay elections, they should be scrutinized based on their role in anti-flooding measures and respect for the Water Code of the Philippines.

Their record of action — or inaction — should have bearing on the ballot.