EDITORIAL - Waiting for the last minute

Fearing disaster from flashfloods now that the rainy season is here, the Cebu City government is set to embark on a demolition spree targeting houses and other structures illegally constructed along riverbanks and other waterways.

Close to 300 such structures have been identified for demolition in the initial phase of the campaign. A lot more could be demolished later, that is if City Hall sustains what might be called its new-found environmental initiative.

There is no argument that these structures which clog our waterways not only pose an immediate danger to the people living in them, they also pose danger to others as clogged waterways can easily spill over and cause more havoc over a much wider area.

But while it is easy to agree with the initiative, the question begs to be asked as to whether City Hall could not have embarked on its demolition campaign long before the threat of floods is already knocking on the door.

Since the city government has said it is not inclined to provide a relocation site for the soon-to-be-displaced families, the least it could have done was to give the affected families time to voluntarily take down their houses and move elsewhere on their own accord.

One can only imagine that many of these people almost have nothing in their miserable lives and now here comes government subjecting them to a very traumatic experience such as having their houses torn down and send them packing to God knows where.

The problem actually is not a new one. The waterways have always been there. And at a certain time of the year, it always rains in such volumes as to pose a threat to life and property.

So how come the city government has never taken steps to either demolish the houses long before the threat becomes imminent or, more importantly, used its vast resources to make sure no houses were ever constructed illegally along the vital waterways.

 Clearly the city government did nothing but fold its arms at a time when it should have acted. It waited until the situation can no longer be remedied except by drastic action that required the use of force instead of mere persuasion.