Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama’s latest Manila trip was fruitful. He met with Senate President Franklin Drilon, who pledged to help in the plan of the Cebu City government and more pointedly, the initiative of citizen activist, to save Cebu’s rivers.
The hope is that concrete action in at least one waterway would start the momentum for the cleanup of all six rivers in Metro Cebu.
Guadalupe is the biggest river in the city. It is also the subject of initial sketches of a Guadalupe Riverfront Redevelopment project being drawn up by the group of Manny Pangilinan in the Metro Pacific Tollways Corp.
A revived river is just part of a more ambitious project, an nsolicited proposal for a third Cebu-Mactan bridge under a private-public partnership with the Cebu city government.
Under the shadow of that new bridge, it would be a splendid sight indeed to see the almost kilometer-long river free of garbage, with walkways, stroll paths and greenery on three-meter strips on both sides of the water.
The work ahead appears formidable.
Unlike Iloilo City’s River Esplanade which serves as inspiration for the whole initiative, the Guadalupe River is larger, with more illegal settlers occupying the area.
The main bone of contention as far as Rama and his critics are concerned is the relocation of settlers.
Iloilo had 1,000 people to move out, which they did, to a Gawad Kalinga-style subdivision complete with colorful houses and a public elementary school within the city itself.
But Cebu city has over 10,000 illegal settlers in various waterways, and a City Council who doesn’t see eye to eye with the mayor.
This is one area where Drilon can only point the way, but not get directly involved.
The need for unity and collaboration beyond party lines is a prerequisite to the assistance he offers as a bridge to national government funding.
In Iloilo city, according to Mayor Jed Mabilog, political leaders in oppositte sides of the fence buckled down to agree to accept all kinds of help and project funds from the national government , regardless of who offers it and gets the credit.
Can this be done for Cebu?
Can this sacrifice of political ego be accomplished for a cause that goes beyond identity as a supporter of the Liberal Party or the administration camp in City Hall?
Concerned citizens and groups like the Movement for a Liveable Cebu have to be ready to forge ahead with collaboration, regardless of consensus among political readers or scenarios of who will likely win the presidency or the mayorship in 2016.
The Guadalupe River project is far too important to be left to the unpredictable results of an election campaign.
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