What a scheme!

Whoever said, a very long time ago, that the truth hurts did not have in his mind the Honorable Cebu City Vice Mayor Joy Young. For this reason, the Her Honor, the Lady Governor of the Province of Cebu, Gwendolyn Garcia should not feel slighted by a recent statement of the vice mayor.

Indeed, the vice mayor only expressed the truth which, in all probability, took him a very long time to suppress. Instead of being castigated for being truthful this time, the vice mayor should be patted on his back. It took him a great amount of courage to come out with an honest remark. There is no truer a declaration than the vice mayor’s statement that, somehow, many of the informal settlers in the city, those who built their houses along the river banks of the city if not on the esteros themselves, are not real city residents even if, it will take time to ascertain if they come from the towns in the Cebu province.

But, before proceeding, let us try to examine what was suppressed by the vice mayor. What matter did he keep to himself like a secret? All along his political career, he professed sympathy for informal settlers. In his public pronouncements, the welfare of these citizens had been in his heart. During his electoral campaigns, he would swear to high heavens that the interest of these occupants of city esteros had a special place in his heart such that he would come to their succor if anyone would attempt to displace them from where they were occupying.

That position was easy to understand. It was (it still is) a political stand that should not be taken for granted, much less overlooked. The number of people settling along the banks of our rivers and esteros would be enough to push a candidate to victory. Did not the reports claim that there are about three thousand such houses? Assuming that each of such house shelter to families with 3 members, their figure would easily reach close to twenty thousand voters. Saying something that would agitate them would be tantamount to a political hara-kiri. And the vice mayor is an astute politician that he would be the last person to do that.

What I am saying is that where the vice mayor campaigned among the dwellers of the city’s river banks, he would not mention anything about the demolition of their homes. Of if he heard anyone saying that, that person would not be his political ally. But, he knew the truth that sooner than later, these settlers had to go. He kept to himself the truth being that the occupation of the esteros and their banks was both illegal and prejudicial to common weal. It would not serve his political interest best, if he avoided that topic at all.

The vice mayor must have actually reflected on this issue. Like a traditional politician, he weighed whether or not to state the truth. On one hand, he knew that uttering the true state of facts, he would somehow ruffle the feelings of these informal settlers. In that event, he would lose their support. On the other hand, he must have seen the opportunity to come clean. It was inevitable, anyway. He could for once, be truthful on this issue and yet find ways to escape politically unhurt.

By claiming that the province has the prime duty to attend to the shelter requirements of these citizens, the vice mayor thought that it was a verifiable fact even if, by saying it eventually his scheme would get exposed. It was thus, his direction to let the informal settlers know the truth that they could no longer be accommodated on the river banks. Their houses have got to be demolished. To placate the feelings of these voters, he, in so many words, insinuated of the attempt of the city administration to coddle them by keeping them where they are.

The vice mayor’s game plan was rather obvious. The call of the times is for the clearing up of the obstructions to the free flow of water. Because the esteros and rivers are clogged up more by illegal structures, the people’s welfare demands that these constructions be demolished. This is a safe side. Majority of us want the banks be cleared of structures and dredged. The vice mayor then, by saying that the city administration cannot further tolerate these houses, would strike the support of the general mass. After all, we have been damaged by the flooding of waters into our homes such that we welcome all effort to prevent the recurrence of floods.

Also, the vice mayor’s thrust was to claim that the city administration was only doing what the provincial administrators failed to do. To him, the informal settlers were only forced to build their homes along the river banks because the provincial government did not provide them places to stay. So,  by coming out with the reported statement that attached the failure of these settlers to find place to construct their homes to the province, he meant to create the picture that somebody else, not the city government, should be faulted.

So, he came out with the truth. It hurts the owners of those who built their homes along the city’s river banks to know that their stay could not be further allowed. But to avoid the backfire, he pointed in the direction of the province as the cause of their misery. What a scheme!

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