Whose COCs I will favor?

The other day, Friday, I visited my very small property in the mountain barangay of Paril, this city. I have since converted this lot into a garden plot. From the gate of my modest home in Barangay Kasambagan, to my garden, there are only about 27 kilometers to travel. When I bought this piece of land, twenty years ago, only that stretch of the road from my home to a part of Binaliw was cemented. The rest of the way was macadam road. After Mayor Michael Rama became our city chief executive, he made sure to pave it with concrete. That Rama road concreting project was done in the year 2013, my memory not failing.

In terms of travel time then, it would take me, two hours to reach my garden from home on a fair weather trip. Fast forward to the present, I divide the distance into two stretches. The first stretch is about 17 kilometers from the city hall to Barangay Binaliw. On any given weekday, a driver takes an hour no less to cover this distance from Lahug to Binaliw or a speed limit of about 15 kilometers per hour. Whereas Barangay Talamban had a voting population of less than 8 thousand 20 years ago, the last census showed the number ballooning to some 25 thousand. This dramatic increase must have been the result of the crowding of 20 plus residential subdivisions in the area. Necessarily, the volume of traffic volume has increased exponentially without the old Banilad road ever widened.

In driving to Paril, the road from Binaliw takes me about 35 minutes, despite its already being concreted. Why? Because firstly that stretch is still narrow such that the fastest speed a responsible driver can maneuver is about 20 kph. Even if the speedometer of a vehicle just registers 25-30 mph, danger is heightened many folds. Secondly, drivers of vehicles coming from opposite directions had to make their transpo units literally crawl to avoid collision. Thirdly, the road is so crooked with many bends that are more dangerous than the Khyber pass.

Admittedly, I am a dreamer. I dream that one day, the road to the mountain barangays (and not just to Paril) shall be widened, straightened and concreted as much as I dream that there will be new interconnecting barangay roads. I believe that nothing is that never was a dream. In my case, I pin my dream on the shoulders of the leaders chosen during the 2025 elections.

In the next few days, the people who aspire for local elective positions shall file their certificates of candidacy. I will search for candidates who possess the intellect to understand the nitty gritty of my otherwise selfish problem. Intellectual depth is my first sieve. I favor bright people because while the problem is identified above is but simple, I entertain the thought that there should be many issues attached to widening and straightening roads. More so, in opening new ones. I am sure that the technical concerns will be daunting. The candidate I will search for must be up to par.

There is perception that infra structure projects are the worst graft ridden endeavors of the government. A survey conducted few years ago, revealed that in public works projects, 40 percent of the peso allocation goes to corrupt officials. So, in choosing candidates, I will research for him who is known for his honesty and incorruptibility. His name must not be tainted with any form of indignity. This is the second qualification my candidate must pass.

It is not difficult to dream for a government whose leaders can make our lives better but it is difficult to search for such men and women.