I GREW up in a community formed close to the river, or more precisely, a river separates Sitio Kawayan in Barangay Sambag 2 to Barangay Calamba. I don’t know the status of the river now, the one that snakes from Sapangdaku down to Guadalupe, to Capitol Site, Sambag 2 and on to another barangay until it reaches the sea. It has been a while since I followed its winding course at least in the part of the river that curves near our community. It was near-virgin then, especially the part away from the bridge in B. Rodriguez St.
We used to roam our part of the river to hunt for spiders or to cut bamboo stems to be fashioned into a toy called “luthang.” Bamboo clumps once grew on the riverbank and must have grown so thick in areas where our community stood, a village that ended up being named Sitio Kawayan. The water that flowed on the river floor was shallow in many parts but not when it rains in the mountains. Then it would gather power enough to kill those caught by the rampaging initial flow.
When I graduated in elementary education from City Central School, I passed the high school entrance examination in Abellana National School and got two scholarships on the side. I chose the prestigious Cebu City National Science High School in Labangon for my secondary education, which meant crossing the river going to the school in the morning. Barangay Labangon was adjacent to Calamba and there was no public utility jeepney route leading there directly. If I had to ride, the route was from B. Rodriguez to Colon and from Colon to Labangon. I could not follow that route without getting late in the mornings.
So I crossed that river during school days going to Calamba and from there entered the cemetery following a footpath that led to the back portion of the then unfenced campuses of the Labangon elementary school and Science High. I ended up quitting school later, which is another story altogether.
I am talking about a river because of the international river summit that is being hosted by Mandaue City. I like it that Mandaue is hosting the event considering its efforts to rehabilitate the Butuanon river, using determination and available technology and knowledge. The work, which got the support of the business sector and ordinary folk in Mandaue, is apparently beginning to show signs of success.
How I wish Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña is as aggressive. If the city had another mayor, I am sure the effort to rehabilitate Butuanon river would have been a joint undertaking by Mayor Luigi Quisumbing and the Cebu City mayor. And the effort would have been much more effective. More than that, it could have inspired other river rehabilitation efforts on both sides of the divide. I just hope Osmeña was invited to the international river summit so he would be inspired..
I am sure the mayor has surveyed our rivers. The river in Guadalupe is still clear in at least the portion right next to its source in Barangay Sapangdaku. It becomes dirty and then dirtier and dirtier as it meanders its way through urban communities. The reason is obvious. Unfortunately, there is no effort to learn from it and no determination to make all our rivers live again.