Thursday, July 19, 2007 Editorials: Smiles and overpasses
CITY Hall won’t be a depository of smiles.
Not wanting to ape a move originated by Gov. Gwen Garcia, an “enemy,” Mayor Tomas Osmeña won’t put up “Bawal ang Nakasimangot” signs at the Cebu City Hall.
Honesty and good service is fine by him, even if the employee is not smiling.
To each his own perception, although it would pay if all government personnel directly dealing with the people are not only honest and diligent but smile to boot.
Or vice versa: they should not only smile but should also be honest and diligent.
After all, the whole point of the smile issue is to change people’s traditional view of a government employee---lazy, incompetent, arrogant, etc.
One point though: people now know that the mayor knows that his appearance reflects what he is, and that he is not bothered by it.
Overpass roofs
But what should be bothersome for some sectors is Osmeña’s plan to ask the Department of Public Works and Highways to remove the roofs of certain overpasses.
His line is that this will drive away mendicants taking shelter there.
There’s actually some sense in the proposal; roofs shield overpasses from sun and rain and, with the structures’ tiled floors, overpasses are better than ordinary sidewalks used by beggars.
Tearing the roofs down, however, is no assurance the mendicants will leave considering that their dire need for a shelter has bred creativity in them.
Cardboards, for example, can now double as roofs from their being used as mats.
Meaning, since there is a way to get around the proposal, then it is faulty.
Task force
Nice try, mayor, but surely there are other better ideas out there, like creating a task force to oversee the cleanup, maintenance and proper use of these structures.
This is necessary considering the enthusiasm with which Reps. Raul del Mar and Antonio Cuenco built overpasses all over Cebu City in their past terms.
Osmeña can even assign a non-productive (in terms of legislative work) member of the City Council to head the task force, like he has been doing in the past.
If a smile does not necessarily make a good City Hall employee, then roofless overpasses does not necessarily drive away mendicants from these structures.
