‘Instagrammable’ art to grace city’s walls

CEBU, Philippines —  The Cebu City Government is urging everyone to keep the city clean from graffiti and vandalism, as repainting of walls in the city’s major thoroughfares has started.

City Councilor Jaypee Labella, together with the Eagles Club Pigafetta Zebu, has started the repainting project on the walls along V. Rama Avenue, Cebu City.

Labella said repainting works had been delayed due to the weather conditions.

“Sige man gud uwan. Sigeg usab-usab ang weather, maong karon pa gyud ni namo nasugdan,” Labella said.

He added they are working with different groups, fraternities and would later on ask some companies to help as part of their corporate social responsibility.

For now, they are just repainting the walls with white for uniformity.

But Tonyson Lee, chairman of the AKRHO Cebu Movement, which would be helping the city get rid from graffiti vandalism, said they plan to convert that graffiti into street art, just like in Singapore.

Different areas will also have different themes that will make it “Instagrammable,” that would attract tourists.

A separate team from the city government is tasked to paint the “center islands” as part of its beautification program.

Meanwhile, the Badjao community has also started cleaning up their respective surroundings.

Earlier, over 85 tons of garbage was hauled in the Badjao community in Barangay Mambaling.

The City Environmental Sanitation and Enforcement Team (CESET) and other related government offices have had some challenges clearing the area from garbage.

Education and information campaign had also been conducted to give the Badjaos better understanding in keeping their surroundings clean.

Some of the structures in the community are also due for demolition, as these structures directly block the waterways.

After clearing up the community, the CESET will already be enforcing strictly the cleanliness in the area and would be issuing citation tickets to violators.

The Cebu City Government had been working on recovering the three-meter easement, reviving the rivers and solving the flooding problem at the soonest possible time. — GAN (FREEMAN)