Mayor Rama's son shares Australia learnings to city officials

CEBU, Philippines — Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama’s son, Atty. Mikel Rama, believes the vision for a “Singapore-like Cebu City with Melbourne features” is achievable if everyone works together.

The young Rama was tasked by his father to present to department heads and barangay captains the learnings they had as a family while they were in Melbourne, Australia for month-long vacation.

As a follow-through for his presentation, Mikel graced the city’s Sugboanon channel and discussed further about the upgraded version of the city’s aspirations.

Mikel said some of the key features he noticed were the numerous green spaces scattered around Melbourne, along with community buildings, various transportation options, and solid waste management.

On roads and vehicular traffic, Mikel said that Melbourne does not have traffic enforcers due to the “Smarter Roads Program” which paved the way for the city to use technology for effective traffic management and technical proficiency.

Mikel also noticed that there are a lot of green spaces in Melbourne, such as exercise parks, community gardens, and picnic grounds.

“Nindot kaayo ang ilang green spaces. Not only as it promotes appreciation for nature, wellness, and bonding time with family,” Mikel added.

Further, Mikel said that Melbourne’s solid waste management system is systematic and responsibility-driven.

“Our takeaway sa ilang solid waste management is that it is segregated and their waste generation is limited. There is a limit to the trash that they can produce on the household level,” he said.

Mikel also noted that Melbourne is very supportive of small and medium-scale enterprises.

“Akong na-notice sa ilang businesses is that robust kaayo ang ilang small and medium enterprises. Even og gamay ka og capital, makatukod raka’g negosyo,” Mikel said while also stressing that the local government assists business owners.

Mikel said that Melbourne is also composed of many diverse cultures who live harmoniously. He said the communities are independent-minded and do not discriminate when it comes to age.

Mikel also noticed that Melbourne is similar to Cebu in terms of its problems, natural or man-made like overcrowding, extreme rain, and heat.

Melbourne’s local government also came up with plans to solve its flooding problems through river restoration efforts, Mikel added.

Mikel said he told members of the Task Force Gubat sa Baha about Melbourne’s ongoing initiative to restore old waterways and update the city’s drainage systems.

More than that, Mikel stressed on the people’s passion to move forward towards development that makes Melbourne successful as inspired by the motto “Vires Acquirit Eundo” that means “we gather strength as we go”.

“Ako-ang personal interpretation is that it has a tinge of humility. Even if we are not where we want to be, let’s just keep moving forward,” Mikel said.

“As we move forward, sige lang ta’g trabaho, focus lang gyud ta, we can gather strength. Maabot ra ta kung asa ta padung. In some way, the City of Cebu, as a community and a constituency, can gain inspiration from it,” Mikel said.

He stressed that if everyone joins forces together and not only goes after one's own interest, everything can be achieved here as well.

“We are pioneers and if we recognize what we can do collectively, dili individualistic, I believe that Cebu City will be a global city,” Mikel said. — (FREEMAN)