If we consider the exchange of verbal fireworks between the high officials of the Cebu City government on one hand and the tandem of Rep. Pablo John Garcia, and his sister, Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia, on the other hand, we can come to the initial conclusion that we, the residents of Cebu City, are a blessed lot. We are truly blessed with leaders who are so concerned with our welfare that they are prepared to examine, page by page, every document that has anything to do with us and where either camp believes that something is disadvantageous to us (again), they can go to court to clear the air.
That is how I tend to view, most generously, the situation on the proposed ordinance that is designed to disallow use, other than public, of government-owned lands along the Banilad-Talamban corridor.
Cebu province is an owner of vast tracts of land located within the boundary of the city. Most of these assets are found in strategic areas. Not very long ago, the provincial government planned a commercial development on its vacant lot along the Gov. M. Cuenco Ave. (old Banilad road, if you may). If I remember correctly the name, it was supposedly aptly called, Ciudad.
The Ciudad was to bring multiplying economic benefits to the city. That was something! The provincial government, whose elected officials we, the city electorate could not even vote for, was thinking of ways to benefit city and us, its people. Everyone expected that the businesses sprouting there would be hefty sources of taxes for the city while directly generating new employment opportunities.
But, the project did not push thru. The hype over its development sputtered. Then, it eventually vanished together with the dreams of thousands of unemployed men and women who already imagined the expected windfall of benefits coming their way. We came to learn from newspaper accounts that no permit was given for the Ciudad upon the alleged instructions of His Honor, Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña.
My ordinary mind, unable to comprehend the genius of the high and the mighty, was confused. The mayor claimed that he was also (underscoring and emphasis, mine) acting to protect the interests of the city residents. Wow, this was indeed also something! In the estimation of the mayor, the inevitable traffic to be generated by the Ciudad would be humongous. It would be so unmanageable that its detrimental effects to the residents tended to negate whatever benefits it was supposed to realize. How could I argue against that?
The recent volley disturbs me ever more. The city council is bent on passing an ordinance that will make official the ban on such commercial development on lands owned by any agency of the government. When the construction of Ciudad was suspended, it was just because it had no permit yet. Meaning, the permit applied for was still in the process and going by the jurisprudence that the signature of the mayor is only ministerial, it was going to be eventually released. This ordinance forecloses that event. There will be no permit for such use.
I heard that Congressman Garcia, granting he can be a real party in interest, announced his intention to contest measure, if approved. I could not divine his position, but I could only imagine that he should be prepared to assail in on constitutional grounds some of which I took the liberty of writing on in my previous article.
There is no doubt that the city council, not having demonstrated any sign of disobeying the directives of the mayor, will pass this ordinance. That is a sure event and the public hearing sometime next week is only a procedural compliance. Likewise, there is also no reason to doubt that Cong. Garcia will not make good his panned lawsuit. My questions are: Is it really for the interest of the city residents that the city legislature will approve this ordinance? And is it really for our interests that Cong. Garcia seeks to nullify this local law? Or, if there is any reason why they are bent on doing what they shall be doing, why hide under the cover of public interest?