FIRSTLY, a warm greeting to my kumpare Punong Barangay Nemesio Huag and the Palangdaos, because I am one of the favored godparents of the wedding of their children last December 28, 2019.
Unfortunately, I was not able to march down the aisle to support them as I was also a godparent to my nephew when Andrey and Claire Buyagan got wedded in Sabnangan, Luba, Abra. To cut the story short, I was invited to be a godparent by the mother Councilor Elizabeth Buyagan way back during the Cordillera Day passing of Gongs in Tabuk, Kalinga last July 2019. I responded that I would love to because it will be a chance for me to return to Sabnangan after more than 15 years.
Fast forward, last December I was notified by PB Huag that I have been invited as one of the godparents, such a privilege but unfortunately, can’t be in two places at one time.
I remember the first time I went to Gibraltar was two decades ago when I was invited to give a bible study to the women of the Anglican Church perching on the top of a hill. We reached the place by passing through a narrow unpaved street parking on a vacant lot beside the road and walking the rest of the way to the small church. Gibraltar has changed through the years. The hills are now full of houses, the winding steep road is now concrete and the way going to the church now is through the stairs and a pathway.
Similarly, I have done house to house campaign and was able to walk crisscrossing the barangay in the morning and in caucuses at nighttime.
There is a mix of people and I have found relatives as well as relatives of my husband. One of the last caucuses we had there was in the house of the Paleyan, a cousin of John. But until now I do not know the meaning of Gibraltar or why the place is named Gibraltar. That will be my next assignment.
My present engagement with Gibraltar is passing an ordinance of the Satellite Market. This is an old business of previous administrations of the city but unfortunately has not been given enough focus to make it into what; the planners envisioned it to be.
In 2019 as soon as I sat as the chairperson of the SP Market, Trade, Commerce and Agriculture I went through pending ordinances and one of which was the Satellite markets. We have consolidated the ordinance including that filed by Councilor Elaine Sembrano and Councilor Leandro Yangot.
However, through the process of the consultations and legislative actions to make this pass, we, in City Hall, found out some disturbing concerns.
What started as a payong market became a talipapa with stalls. Further on some stalls were converted into living quarters or partly stall and living quarters. Some of these living quarters are also being rented out.
CBAO says these structures have no building permit, so one asked why they have not been demolished years ago. Some of these structures have encroached into the river/creek but CEPMO has not cleared them? These stalls have been converted into living quarters and no longer are stalls or only partly stall. During the consultation one asked why the permits and licensing division have not closed them?
Now we asked what they have done in the past that we in the present are beset to address. Some heads and staff of these city departments have retired and left the service but the harshness of the law has not touched these people in Gibraltar. But again, they said the present department heads are newly appointed just a few years ago.
Some discussions on the issue raised these comments; maybe these people in Gibraltar occupying the satellite market are so favored they are exempted from the law, maybe they are being cuddled by people of authority that they cannot be touched by the implementation of the law.
We pray new things will happen and changes will come.