EDITORIAL - Not their brother's keeper

The city council of Cebu City was said to have approved the sale at public auction of several hundred impounded motor vehicles that have remained unclaimed by their owners.

Seeing a photograph of the vehicles in question, it is easy to see why they haven't.

The way all these vehicles have been thrown together gives the impression that the city is operating a junkyard and not a holding area for impounded vehicles. There doesn't seem to be a clear and deliberate effort to be diligent in securing and keeping them.

It is as if the moment a vehicle is impounded, the only recourse of the vehicle owner is to kiss is possession goodbye and forget about it. There is no way he can reasonably expect the city to respect his right of ownership if what it does is just dump the vehicle.

The manner in which a city takes care of properties, whether its own or those that it has seized, speaks a great deal of the kind of city that it is. A city that has self-respect is also a city that is respectful of others. Such a city is often orderly, peaceful, and progressive.

In the city of Taipei, every tree that lines every street has a tag bearing information about that tree, including its inventory number, which means that its City Hall keeps a record of all trees within its boundaries. No wonder people there do not park indiscriminately anywhere.

When a city like Taipei knows precisely the location of each tree, then it must also know precisely where it is going. And when a city knows precisely where it is going, its people tend to follow and there is less drag as they go along. So everyone gets there and is happy. 

But if you are in a city like Cebu, where chances are you are not likely to ever see again the motorcycle that was seized from you, you are not likely to have a very high regard for your city. So you struggle and you resist. And if you ever get anywhere, it is not worth it.

Possessions are not frivolous articles to be simply dumped in a heap under the mercy of the elements. Even if by their seizure is meant they may have been in violation of something or had been accessories in an offense, that still does not justify doing away with just safekeeping.