Parks to cemeteries and cemeteries to parks?

First of all, allow me to greet my favorite sister (she’s the only girl in the family) Mrs. Adela Avila-Kono on the occasion of her nth birthday today. Adela joined the ranks of the Persons with Disabilities (PWD) when she was two years old when she was stricken with polio and one would think that it was the end of her public or social life. But God always takes care of all his creatures and her disability brought my mother, the late Ascension Segura Avila, to found the Cebu Society for Cripple Children, Inc. (CWCCI), which we shut down a few years after her death.

 But Adela’s work in advocating a Barrier-Free Philippines continues and this has resulted in many establishments like SM Shoemart and the Ayala Shopping Center having parking and ramp facilities for PWDs. It is indeed a tireless and thankless job to convince architects and building owners to respect the spirit of B.P. 344 “An act to enhance the mobility of Disabled Persons by requiring certain buildings, institutions, establishments and public utilities to install facilities and other devices.” So here’s to a very happy birthday to Adela and may God always bless you and my brother Yuki in all the days of your life. Above all that, those who listen to your advocacy would have the grace to realize that disabled persons, like the rest of us, have places to go.

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 Everything was going well for the City of Cebu until someone brought up the idea of making a park out of the old Carreta Catholic Cemetery along M. J. Cuenco Ave., which features the iconic Osmeña Mausoleum looking like a small scale Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. Then out of the blue, without most of us knowing, Rep. Tomas Osmeña signed the deal to turn the Osmeña Shrine up in Beverly Hills into a cemetery. What in heavens prompted the former Mayor of Cebu to bequeath the Osmeña Shrine, which was planned to be a park, and turn it into a cemetery?

 Too often, pundits cloud the real issue daring to put a religious slant that this was given to a Protestant group; hence we Catholics should be against this donation. Let me stress that our opposition has nothing to with religion. The Osmeña Shrine was purposely (to be honest, it was so long ago, I even forgot who created it) placed there to be a park because of its proximity to the Girl’s and Boy’s Scout Camps and it had a great view. What really pissed me off was the fact that this area was squatted and the Cebu City Government (or is this owned by the Province of Cebu?) did not do anything to stop this illegal intrusion on public land.

 But to replace the Osmeña Shrine with a cemetery is something that former Mayor and now Congressman Tomas Osmeña should never have done. First of all, this area is on the hillside and when it rains, the rainwater runs down into Peace Valley, which more often than not, turns the road into a raging river. Mind you, this was the road that I asked then Councilor Gabby Leyson to cement because the volume of rainwater that cascade down the road always washes away the asphalted road and the City of Cebu had to re-asphalt that road at least twice a year. Since we cemented this road in 2004, the City of Cebu had saved a lot of money for road projects elsewhere.

 But even if the road in Peace Valley has already been cemented, this has not prevented the rains from always raging down the road. This is why we should all be against the plan to turn this into a cemetery. Lest we be misunderstood by Rep. Tomas Osmeña, my view has nothing to do with politics, especially that Lahug Barangay Capt. Mary Ann delos Santos, a known anti-Tomas critic, is also against this proposal.

 Turning the Osmeña Shrine into cemetery is wrong and even if Rep. Tomas gave it to the Catholic Church, I still would vehemently oppose it as it isn’t a good project that would benefit the greater community in that area. At this point, I earnestly hope that Rep. Tomas Osmeña would reconsider this move even if it is already fait accompli.

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 I was reading the April edition of “Barug” the official newsletter of the City of Cebu and one article states that the City of Cebu is purchasing P150 million worth of heavy equipment to improve road repairs in the city proper and in the moutain barangay areas and drainage maintenance services. Initial implementation of the City’s Drainage Master Plan through desilting and dredging projects on Cebu City’s creeks had been a priority for this year. Pardon my ignorance, but the first six months of 2011 is already almost gone and last Friday’s strong rains inundated the whole downtown business district. It just makes me wonder where this project is now? The flooding last Friday was one of the worst we’ve seen in decades and the only solution that comes to mind is for the City Engineers to excavate the esteros and make it twice as deep as it already is.

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