Mas vale tarde, que nunca

Engraved on the concrete flooring of the deep well of the catholic convent in Candijay, Bohol, was a saying "mas vale tarde, que nunca". As a young boy, many years ago, I would see that every time I would fetch water. When I asked Fr. Eliseo Josol, now deceased, what it meant, he took time to explain, with examples, to boot, that some things would come better late than never. That deep well is long gone, but I still relish the meaning of its inscription.

If some news late reports were to be believed, the happening of an event, though very much late, will still prove to be better. It will strengthen the theory of the majesty of the law. I am speaking of the reports that the north reclamation area will be divided into few parts with each portion being appended to the adjacent barangays.

For our better understanding of the past, I will try to recollect an act of the city council sometime in 1988. The Honorable Cebu City Mayor Tomas R. Osmeña struck what he thought was a genius of an idea. Seeing that there was a vast bounty of taxes coming from the north reclamation area, he imagined that it would be a good source of funds for his projects. But, he was confronted with the fact that the barangays were (still are) entitled to some shares of the taxes, realty, mainly.

Not wanting to give the adjacent barangays their share, the good mayor thought of having the entire north reclamation area declared a "non-barangay". I do remember having raised an objection together with the then members of the minority in spite of the fact that I was a part of the mayor's group. I objected because, there was none from any law book I could hold which would serve as a legal basis for such a declaration of a non-barangay. To me, it was a non-existent entity and I could not, in conscience, vote for something whose legal foundation was, at best, suspect. Just the same, with sheer number, the measure passed the council and got approved by the mayor, of course.

It, thus, came to pass that the barangays of Mabolo, Carreta and Tejero were denied of their legal share of the taxes. For all these years, these government units provided all kinds of services to the thousands of residents of the reclamation particularly the informal settlers there. For instance, each time conflicts arose among neighbors, the officials of these barangays would be there to settle them. Or, should the residents look for clearances, they would get those from the barangay halls of Mabolo or Carreta or Tejero.

For almost two decades now, the injustice continues. With the perpetuation of that legal anomaly called non-barangay, the local government units of Mabolo, Carreta and Tejero have been deprived of what should belong to them. If their efforts to serve their constituencies have been stymied by lack of funds, the city government, who invented this ogre called "non-barangay" is to blame.

To correct the anomaly, some members of the previous city council drafted a measure. The move of then Councilors Dandy Fernan and my lady, Carmen, which, naturally, I would label as wise, was to apportion the whole north reclamation and assign as parts of Mabolo, Carreta and Tejero those areas which were contiguous and adjacent to them. The objective was for said barangays to get their legal share of the taxes collected from the area. Unfortunately, the proposal did not reach first base.

It's a good thing that positive signals have come from city hall. As the reports have it, it seems that the city leadership, upon the restiveness of Barangay Carreta, has realized the existence of the legal anomaly and is now inclined to follow the law. Indeed, it may have come after about twenty years late, but "mas vale tarde, que nunca".