On my way to the office yesterday, I played with the amplitude modulation band of my car radio. Earlier in the morning, I had my fill of music from vinyl long playing records that I played on my antiquated turn table. So, I decided to listen to live personalities doing their entertainment behind the microphone. Then, I chanced upon a station that was broadcasting news. What I heard elicited my mischievous smile.
According to the newscaster, the former city chief executive directed (I am not sure if this was the word used) our mayor to buy new fire trucks. By the fact that it was a headline item, it followed that the media outlet found the news worth its top label. Or it recognized the importance of the source of the story. Or both.
Anyway, I smiled because I wrote about it only two weeks ago. In that column of mine, I pointed to a lady on a video footage of the television coverage of that fire. She claimed that the fire that hit a home in Casals Village could have been earlier controlled had not the fire trucks bogged down. Then, the camera panned to the ugly sight of a truck that, to say it mildly, refused to run! Having quoted the lady, I suggested to our officialdom that the city modernize its fire fighting fleet rather than engage themselves in partisan barangay elections. I smiled because of two things.
First. The former mayor must have just seen the problem. To protect the citizenry from such a disaster as fire is also an important issue to him, after all. That he has to veer away from his functions as a congressman and delve into such executive matters as asking the sitting mayor to acquire new fire fighting equipment is a clear demonstration of his attention. To say it differently, the former mayor is so concerned with our condition that he could forget telling us what he is doing in Cogress because he wants to remind the new mayor what is to be done.
It is our blessing to have two mayors. Two heads are better than one is a saying I previously had to jostle with. I thank the former mayor for showing to me the truth of this dictum. With His Honor, Mayor Michael Rama receiving the directive from former mayor and now the Honorable Congressman Tomas Osmeña, to buy new fire trucks, this project may have just received the attention it so rightfully deserves. The city will soon have its new fire trucks. Wow.
I do not know however, how Mayor Rama will take this directive. His predecessor has beaten him to the draw. Why the mayor has failed to make policy pronouncements on this issue escapes me. Especially if we reckon the fact that the city has had its share of recent conflagrations. Will it thus appear that the former mayor has a better grasp of the city's needs?
For all I care, I do not mind if the new mayor suffers in upmanship. It's not OK Corral. What is important to me is that the city is possessed with modern fire-fighting equipment whether it is bought upon the instance of the former mayor or as part of the vision of the incumbent.
Second. The foregoing statements lead me to the second issue. Of course, we assume that the former mayor attaches a high degree of significance to the capability of the city to combat fires. For one, there are multi storey buildings rising almost everywhere and fires from their higher floors will bound to be difficult to contain. For another, on many areas of our city continue to exist clustered houses of light materials. They are prone to fire.
What baffles me though is that if the former mayor deems it important to upgrade our fire fighting capability, why did he not address this issue while he was sitting at city hall? He spent nine years before Mayor Rama's time came. The terrible picture of a fire truck left in the middle of the road because of malfunctioning engine is a classic case of the former mayor's failure as an administrator. The state of disrepair of the city's few fire trucks is not a result of the inefficiency of the new mayor.
More than this, I feel that the Congressman Osmeña is again neglecting his current responsibilities. While his successor needs some guidance, and perhaps assistance, the former mayor has to work more his butt out in the halls of legislature than attempt to micro-manage the city. Unless, he is doing this because, he will stage a comeback. And that is an entirely different story!
* * *
Email: avenpiramide@yahoo.com.ph