Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña’s decision to get the city out of the Mega Cebu project may be viewed as parochial by his critics, but to those who know him well enough, it wasn’t unexpected as he had been criticizing it in radio interviews even before he was elected anew to office.
The mayor is also against the creation of a Mega Cebu Development Authority that was first lobbied by his ally Rep. Raul del Mar of Cebu City’s first district for the initial reason that not only is he not keen on the city not having a larger role and vote in the agency but that other people and groups will have a say on how Cebu City’s affairs will be run at least in relation to their dealings with other LGUs.
As Osmeña explained it, he doesn’t understand why Cebu City, which has a larger population and is far more developed than Consolacion town, will be on equal footing with Consolacion when it comes to voting on policies and programs in the proposed agency.
As far as I can recall, my first actual exposure to Mega Cebu aside from the news stories I came across in my work was during a candidates forum for the 2013 elections.
Through their videos, I came to learn that among the movers was the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. and they were among the more visible proponents as their officials were seen attending meetings of the Metro Cebu Development and Coordinating Board (MCDCB) that was attended by Metro Cebu officials.
The main goal of Mega Cebu as culled from their mission statement is to establish by 2050 “a vibrant, equitable, sustainable, and competitive environment that embraces Cebu’s creativity and its cultural, historical and natural resources, with strong citizen participation and responsive governance.”
They seek to achieve it through the creation of said Mega Cebu Development Authority which Osmeña had already opposed since Day One. That he sees Mega Cebu as having supported his rival, former Cebu City mayor Michael Rama, makes him all the more opposed to Cebu City joining it.
To their credit, Mega Cebu’s movers aren’t lacking in effort to promote their agenda and presence in Metro Cebu projects and programs. If memory serves, I recall a news story in which the Mega Cebu proponents asked the Cebu City Council to include the logo of Mega Cebu in the proposed Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) terminals to be built by the city sometime next year.
Councilor Margot Osmeña moved to have the proposal studied, saying that the council needs to know what arrangements should be made between the city and Mega Cebu before their proposal is considered. Osmeña isn’t alone in opposing the creation of a Mega Cebu Development Authority though.
Gov. Hilario Davide III’s political opponent, former Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) chairman Winston Garcia, admitted during a candidates’ forum that it would be difficult to work within parameters set by an agency that would likely dictate on local governments on their development plans.
In that respect, there’s a certain logic to what Osmeña is standing for which is, to put it simply, that “too many cooks spoil the broth.” Though blunt, one cannot help but agree with Osmeña’s challenge to Mega Cebu proponents to back up their vision by raising funds for those sustainable projects they have in mind for Cebu.
Also exactly how much influence would those in Mega Cebu and the proposed Mega Cebu Development Authority have on LGUs, and how would they be held accountable to the public if some of their projects and programs go wrong, like those traffic experiments being done by one of their more active participants, the Movement for a Livable Cebu, that caused traffic congestion and inconvenienced commuters and motorists alike?
That said, some of Mayor Osmeña’s plans are questionable like building 10 flyovers as opposed to Del Mar’s original proposal for a network of seven flyovers.
I recall what Sen. Miriam Santiago said about flyovers which, along with those giant billboards, block a person’s view of the sky. It may not mean much to officials like Osmeña, but it is a very big deal for those who still want to see some of nature’s presence amid the glass, steel and concrete landscape that is Cebu City and Metro Cebu.
On that note, I agree with the stand of MLC — and by extension perhaps Mega Cebu — against building more flyovers in the city. Looking at both sides of the fence, I guess my bottomline (stupidly naive though it may be) question would be this: between Mayor Tomas Osmeña, the elected Metro Cebu officials and the interest/advocacy/lobby groups comprising Mega Cebu, who are more accountable to the public?
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