River dreams

June 18,2015 - 11:47 AM

toon_18JUNE2015_THURSDAY_renelevera_RELOCATION

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.

Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Your subscription has been successful.

Subscribe to our daily newsletter

By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy.

Read Next

Disclaimer: The comments uploaded on this site do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of management and owner of Cebudailynews. We reserve the right to exclude comments that we deem to be inconsistent with our editorial standards.

TAGS: Cebu, Cebu City, Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama, Cebu Daily News

We use cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. By continuing, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. To find out more, please click this link.