Sunday, January 13, 2008 Malilong: Honor we should be proud of By Frank Malilong The Other Side
A COUPLE of years ago, I wrote here what many wished of their mayor: to be more patient and tolerant. If he could only rein in his temper and listen to contrary opinion without getting angry and becoming personal, I said then, Tommy Osmeña could become one of the greatest mayors Cebu City ever had.
He replied with an open letter, which was published in this and another paper, that stated, among others, that he did not want to be remembered as a great mayor, only that he helped build a great city.
Well, it seems that Tommy O may get his wish; Cebu is on its way to being a great city. That is what the Finance Direct Investment (fDi) of the prestigious Financial Times Group predicts.
Being ranked eighth among the Asian Cities of the Future is an honor that we all should be proud of. Proudest of all should be Osmeña because the award can only be interpreted as recognition of his vision and skills as a leader.
In fact, I wouldn’t have been surprised if the mayor had gloated. After all, it is not everyday that your city gets the endorsement of a very respectable agency
Instead, Tommy showed remarkable humility, choosing to rally other cities of the country into improving so that they could also land in the top ten in the future rankings by fDi. We can’t be number one, he says, if the other parts of the country continue to lag behind.
But it’s not only the other cities that have to improve. The magazine’s survey shows how far away Cebu City still is from the top in terms of infrastructure, friendly business climate, human resources and economic potential. These issues have to be addressed.
Among all the four categories, it is in infrastructure that the city can make an immediate impact. Since building new roads or even widening old ones can be very costly, the city government can start by improving the existing thoroughfares. That means not only filling up the omnipresent potholes but also removing all obstructions like illegally parked vehicles and sidewalk structures and vendors.
It is, however, in the area of flood control that I think any positive action by the government can bring in dramatic results in our ranking in infrastructure. The fDI Magazine must have seen how flooded our streets become at the slightest hint of rainfall. Without a comprehensive drainage program, I don’t think the city will get a more favorable look than the one it had.
All these, however, do not detract from the honor recently bestowed on the city and its people. That the achievement came with little, if at all, help from the national government all the more makes it truly special. Other cities must be green with envy.
In my reply to Tommy’s open letter, I asked why we couldn’t have a great city run by a great mayor. Don’t look now but I might just get what I wished for.
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I don’t want to appear like I’m waging a personal crusade against SkyCable but the letters from readers just keep coming in. The latest is from Noel Yu who traced management’s decision not to air Basketball TV and Solar Sports to ABS-CBN’s failure to obtain exclusive broadcast rights to the fights of Manny Pacquiao. They’re trying to get even by killing the competition, he charged.
