Mayor Michael Rama dreams of a Cebu City that is like Singapore. Critics jeer at him. His dream, they say, will remain just that by the time he steps down, whenever it may be: still just a dream.
I applaud the mayor’s vision but I’m afraid his critics are right. Cebu City will never be like Singapore even if Rama is able to build the most modern infrastructure, unless his dream has our buy-in.
One afternoon last week, I found myself in the middle of a horrible traffic jam in the old Mango Avenue. As I fretted in my seat over the growing possibility of a missed appointment, vehicles could be seen trying to outdo each other, fighting for every inch of available space including the opposite lane, inevitably aggravating our situation.
I made it to my appointment but barely. And no thanks to any government intervention, by the way, because there was none, not even a single traffic aide trying to untangle the web of stalled vehicles. Almost miraculously, the confusion resolved by itself.
It’s a line that must have been repeated thousands of times during the last 12 months of Rama’s current term but I’ll say it nevertheless: We lack discipline. And it’s not just in the streets.
You see it in crowded elevators where people rush in even before those inside could get out; in the plane where passengers stand up to retrieve their baggage from the overhead bins even before the aircraft has completely landed and despite the repeated admonition from the public address system for them to stay in their seats; and in payment and check-in counters where people insert themselves at the front of a long line.
We see it in people who throw their garbage anywhere because anyway there are garbage collectors who are paid by the government from people’s taxes; and those who indiscriminately fire guns and ignite firecrackers in Christmas and New Year’s eve celebrations.
If we want our city to be like Singapore, we have to learn to conduct ourselves like a Singaporean. We have to learn to observe traffic rules and regulations. We have to obey our laws and ordinances including those that are aimed at protecting our environment. That means, among others, not smoking in public places and not urinating against the wall.
We have to do our part in stamping out corruption. We should not offer a bribe to the government worker or official who has the power to facilitate a transaction and reject a demand for a bribe for any reason. Anyone who bribes a public official, whether voluntarily or upon demand, should not be entitled to relief or help from the government if the transaction sours.
All these—learning to live the Singaporean way—will take time. We have become so used to a life of indiscipline and corruption that it will be extremely difficult to reinvent our lives. But we can if we want it.
If we don’t, let’s continue to jeer at Rama and his dream.