Oaminal named city's anti-vandalism czar

CEBU, Philippines - Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama yesterday declared war against vandalism and appointed lawyer Clarence Paul Oaminal as the city’s anti-vandalism czar.

Rama said that Oaminal will be a volunteer and may later be hired as a consultant.

The mayor is expected to issue an Executive Order soon creating the anti-vandalism task force that Oaminal will be heading.

Rama said the task force to be created shall consist of various sectors including the academe, the church and other sectors concerned in keeping the city beautiful and vandal-free.

The sudden all-out enforcement of vandalism law is triggered by a viral video over the net featuring a foreigner who made a documentation of the things he dislikes about the country, one of which is vandalism almost everywhere.

The settings in the video happen to be in Cebu City.

“I want to address all these things so we would not be (negatively) featured again,” Rama said.

He said he also doesn’t want the children to grow with the orientation that vandalism is legal because the government is not doing something about it.

He said that he chose Oaminal because the latter is a known anti-drug crusader who has always been passionate to serve.

“He is a teacher, a lawyer, a crusader. When you are a crusader, there should never be a question on your passion to serve,” Rama said.

He said that Oaminal will be working like a ‘family member’ since the latter is one of former Congressman Antonio Cuenco’s advisers.

He wants to try to create a multi-sectoral group for the task because he has not seen that the police had done a significant job about it.

“Ako na man ning gihatag sa police sa una, but ‘come-and-go’ man akong nakit-an (I have given this task to the police before),” Rama said.

Vandalism is the willful or malicious defacing or destruction of public or private property.

Rama said that not only writings on walls shall be addressed but those who sleep on streets.

He said he is assigning Department of Social Welfare and Services chief Cathy Yso to be in-charged with the night dwellers despite the latter’s impending transfer to the Department of Public Works.

“Cathy will be working with Gualiza at the DPW, but I want her to be in-charged of the night dwellers at the same time,” Rama said.  (FREEMAN)