Caloocan mayor to fight crime and grime

He is talking tough.

Caloocan City Mayor-elect Enrico "Recom" Echiverri, who will be taking his oath of office at noon today, yesterday vowed "to remove crime and grime" in the city from Day One of his term.

"We are talking here about renewing the face and the character of Caloocan long tainted by urban blight and official neglect. We speak of a no-nonsense change in the image and character of our beloved city. And it is starting with me and you who love this city from the day I assume office," Echiverri said.

The first to go, the new mayor said, is the controversial P12-million Historical Walk built by outgoing Mayor Reynaldo Malonzo in 2003 leading up to the 75-year-old Bonifacio Shrine, the city’s greatest and most revered historical landmark.

The 45-foot high white granite-wrapped obelisk, a masterpiece of National Artist for Sculpture Guillermo Tolentino of the UP Oblation fame and referred to simply as "Monumento" by the masses, has become synonymous with Caloocan. In recent times, however, it gained some notoriety after Malonzo built the walk, allegedly for dubious reasons said his detractors, and added to the horrendous traffic by closing the EDSA side of the circle. Echiverri said he was demolishing the roadblock due to public clamor. He also revealed that upon review, he found out that the walk’s construction was backed by no ordinance and whose construction did not go through any public hearing.

In recent weeks, Echiverri had been in consultation with the Planning and Design Division of the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) for a unified and rationalized solution to the traffic problem in the area as part of the metro agency’s overall program. He said his talks with MMDA’s Bayani Fernando and Lito Vergel de Dios has been very fruitful and his plans given the nod and the blessings by these officials. – Jerry Botial