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Saturday, June 04, 2005
Editorials: Checks and balance and the SRP
Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña’s plan to give two hectares of prime lots at the South Reclamation Project (SRP) to Cordova supposedly for accommodating Badjao communities in the town again shows the need for checks and balance at the City Hall.
This is because no matter how one views the plan, one gets the impression the mayor is acting as if the SRP, which costs billions of pesos from the pockets of Cebu City taxpayers, is his to personally dispose of any time and to any entity.
The mayor misinterpreted his mandate apparently because his strongman posturing has reduced those with the responsibility to prevent such excesses—like the City Council—to silence or at best to whining at the side like puppies.
Indeed, there is now in place at the City Hall a culture of servitude, with the mayor doing what he wants, right or wrong, and the other officials and members of the bureaucracy either bowing their heads or defending his moves.
The mayor may have been able to get away with the excesses, like his closing the South Coastal Road and dismissal of 77 casual employees who are mostly from Talisay City, because their effects are confined only to a few sectors or individuals.
But misuse of his power over the SRP is a different matter altogether because of its long-term effects on the City Government and the lives of city residents.
Decisions like giving two hectares of lots to Cordova must not be made by one person alone and must be done within the confines of guidelines and development plans laid down by a collective—not knee-jerk and, even more so, not as instruments of spite.
Nanan Gimenez’s acquittal
The dismissal of the drug case against supposed Hong Kong Triad member Giovanni “Nanan” Gimenez and his two companions was not surprising for those who have been religiously following the court hearings.
The case has long become an example of the bungling ways of law enforcement agents and the difficulty of prosecuting suspects with the means, financial among them, to take advantage of the weaknesses of the criminal justice system.
But there is no need to wallow over the missed chances; rather, Gimenez’s acquittal should prod law enforcers, the prosecution and other concerned entities to straighten up their acts to prevent a repeat of the said sad episode.
Besides, proponents of with vigilante-style killings of suspected criminals should not be given more arguments to advance their twisted cause.
(June 4, 2005 issue)
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