Wednesday, May 28, 2008 Carvajal: A parable for two cities By Orlando P. Carvajal Break Point
AT a convention I recently attended I heard a speaker tell the parable of the efficient farm team whose leader went around looking for work contracts by bragging about how his team could clear a field, break the soil and plow it ready for planting faster than any other team. To make a long story short, one day a landowner engaged the team to clear his land and plow it for the next planting season.
The team wasted no time, went right to work and finished an excellent job in record time. When the owner arrived to inspect the work, he could not help but be amazed at how fast yet how well they did their job. But then, he noticed a problem so that when the workers asked for their pay, he told them to wait while he makes one final check.
The owner went up an adjacent hill, climbed to the top of the tallest tree on that hill and peered at the freshly cleared and plowed field below him. Finally he came down and faced the team that was eagerly awaiting their pay.
Clearly and calmly he told them: “You certainly did an excellent job clearing and plowing this field. However, I am sorry I cannot pay you yet, because you have cleared and plowed the wrong field.”
Mayor Arturo Radaza prides himself in doing a good job with whatever he is trying to do in Lapu-Lapu City. But the question remains, is he doing the right thing, is he plowing the right field? Is his billion-peso reclamation project the right priority for Lapu-Lapu City? For less than the billions of pesos he wants to spend on the reclamation project, he can widen, pave and beautify Lapu-Lapu City’s streets and put in an efficient drainage system to boot.
One cannot help but wonder why would he reclaim more land when he cannot even develop, put order, keep clean, green and beautiful his existing piece of real estate? One also wonders how a Malacañang spokesman could talk about tourism infrastructure for Cebu if it lets Mayor Radaza get away with expensive non-tourism projects when he cannot even pave and clean the city’s streets.
In Cebu City, we have just learned how much is the debt servicing of the South Road Properties (SRP) loan. It is a lot of money that could have been spent on building more and wider roads. The city is now choking with narrow and crudely paved streets while the South Coastal Road remains a limited access road. The SRP was already a wrong field to plow, yet the mayor is looking to annex Cordova, another wrong field.
It is important to plow a field right but what use is it if it’s the wrong field? Both Mayor Tomas Osmeña and Mayor Radaza are already plowing a wrong field and now want to plow more wrong fields. Fortunately, despite official obstructionism, both cities are booming, thanks to the Cebuano’s enterprising spirit.
