A test of political will

The process is going to be quite long and very tedious. In fact, it will be daunting most of the way. If anyone looks for the true meaning of political will, the task in front of His Honor, Cebu City Mayor Michael L. Rama, the Sanggunian Panlungsod and particularly its member, the Hon. Dave Tumulak, is it. Their focus and persistence will define their character and their success will etch their names in the political history of the city, on the side of good governance.

I am referring to the future action these officials will take in relation to the initial findings that some properties denominated as public domain in the periphery of the Buhisan Dam and along the Mahiga River have been issued certificates of title. It is heartwarming to see that Mayor Rama and Councilor Tumulak seem to exert efforts to go to the bottom of this problem, the obvious solutions of which are first, to work with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, for the reversion of those titles back the character of public domain and second, in so far as the Buhisan residents are concerned, the relocation of affected individuals.

These apparently are new findings. While these must be pursued with unwavering vigor, the mayor and the SP member need to solve a similar problem that past government officials were without balls (pardon me for the word), to work on. Previous city administrations could not uphold the law. In tolerating private individuals to usurp a portion of a waterway and its banks and use them as if these areas were their own private kingdom, they typified incompetence and inutility.

By quirk of circumstance, the issue is now on the lap of Mayor Rama and Councilor Tumulak. This is the litmus test of their political will. Where past regimes miserably failed, these present city leaders can recoup the trust of the people should they take an unflinching look at the seeming utilization by a person (or perhaps a group of persons) of a river not far from the University of San Carlos North Campus (formerly Boys High School).

As it appears, these persons own the parcels of land adjacent to the river easements on both sides. Many years ago, they constructed commercial buildings on both banks of the river. If they erected their edifices on their own properties, that was unquestionably a legitimate exercise of ownership. The owners of course, knew that one such building was isolated, theoretically speaking, as it did not have access to the road. From economic perspective, it could have, very well, been a dead investment. But to their credit, they, too, were smart. They built a bridge that spanned the river and connected their structures. Not only did they occupy the banks, which are supposedly part of public domain, they also appropriated for their own, the river itself!

To be sure, the public was incensed but many of us could only echo an inaudible, and therefore, ineffective, complaint. The perceived transgressor was a moneyed Goliath and in a society like ours, where wealth is huge clout, to be silent was a prudent option to the Davids in us. We could not afford to wage war, specially a protracted one, against a mighty and superior force because we were almost certain that we could only get pulverized.

Some of our officials though muttered something about the violation. In the beginning of our suppressed outrage, they attempted to champion the cause of the republic whose domain was violated. But, for reasons unknown to us, their constituents, our officers did not push. Without our chosen protectors, our initial public revulsion caused by such the manifest display of economic power died down.

Today, the cries against environmental depredators are more pronounced. That Mayor Rama and Councilor Tumulak appear ready to lead our cause versus the intruders of public domain is our privilege. For the mayor and the councilor to demonstrate their political will, let them retrieve from the archives the records of the usurpation of a part of the river and its banks near the university and make sure that this time, the pursuit reaches its logical end.