IN JUST a matter of days, the voters in the City of Baguio will once again troop to their respective polling centers to cast their votes and choose the next set of leaders that will lead Baguio into what we pray will hopefully be a better future.
Everybody, from the lowly shoeshine guy and “taho” vendor to the affluent businessman living comfortably in his mansion here in the city would like to see a better Baguio. A thriving and robust local government unit that has finally solved its traffic and garbage problem, preserved and maintained a balanced ecosystem, reforested areas made barren and treeless by floods or inundation, unwarranted tree felling, erosion and landslides, as well as concreting as a consequence of development.
Now that voters have been given a priceless opportunity to select a new set of leaders for the city it is important to know whom to vote for.
Here then is a sample guide for Baguio voters to rely on in the event that choosing the right leader has been made doubly difficult by the plethora of promises and claims by seasoned and aspiring local politicians.
First of all, choose those candidates who promise that they will advocate seeking an alternative solution to the traffic congestion problem. A solution that may or may not be appreciated in the short term or even during their term as an elected public official in the city but will nevertheless provide a more or less permanent solution to the present traffic mess in the near future.
As a suggestion, choose a candidate who would be willing to advocate to establish tunnels and subways beneath the ground where vehicles can pass through and which will surely reduce by a huge number the current volume of motor vehicles crammed on our surface roads and streets. In other words, why not choose a candidate who would be willing to pursue a project of providing a totally new and modern alternative road system beneath the city in order to decongest traffic above ground.
Going underground as a means to solve the traffic problem is one sure way to solve the present traffic problem since the idea behind it is to create a different pathway for the multitude of vehicles constantly traversing the city’s surface roads and streets.
Second, choose those candidates who are open to the idea that the way to solve the present garbage problem is to use technology that will not only remove garbage but also make use of it for some other productive purpose.
Here we can suggest a reliable waste to energy technology or some other kind of similar technology which will use garbage for some other useful purpose as a by-product. If there is any truth to the saying “there is money in garbage” then this is the way to go as far as managing the solid waste of the city is concerned.
Finally, choose those candidates who would be willing to impose directives or rules that would strengthen measures in the preservation and conservation of the environment. As a suggestion, vote for those candidates willing to sacrifice their time and effort to establish a system of compelling all residents in the city to plant a certain number of trees in specified areas, collaborate in the taking care and maintaining the development and growth of these trees, and guaranteeing the survivability of these trees for the next generation.
A word of caution do not ever vote for candidates who talk in generalities about their plans and objectives without any specific plan on how to go about achieving them.