Cebu provincial board member Arleigh Sitoy is reportedly seeking an investigation into certain Capitol expenditures, particularly those involving such projects as Sugbo News, Sugbo Tv, and the Suroy-Suroy Tourism Caravan.
If the motive of Sitoy is in line with the provincial board’s oversight functions, then there is probably nothing wrong with his initiative. But nine months into the next election, I doubt very much if Sitoy is imbued with anything remotely resembling nobleness in motive.
For one thing, all of the above-mentioned projects have been around for quite a while. And yet, in all of those times that they were, they never seemed to so much as pique the passing interest of Sitoy.
Again, I could be totally wrong. But I cannot help but feel completely taken by surprise by Sitoy’s sudden interest in the expenses involved in these projects, especially since, as a matter of course, these expenses should already have passed the scrutiny of the board.
This leads me to wonder if the investigation Sitoy wants to undertake is not really meant to promote his political interests now that the elections are fast approaching. After all, the media attention such an investigation can generate is certain to thrust Sitoy into the limelight.
Short of committing a crime, there is no stopping Sitoy from employing any and all means to call attention to himself. This is, after all, a free country. What I do not like is when the exercise of one’s rights causes terrible and unwarranted collateral damage.
Sitoy’s right to promote his political stock must not come at the expense of Capitol projects that have done so much to promote Cebu in all its entirety — from the friendliness and work ethic of its people, to the richness of its history and culture, to the beauty of its sites.
I have no idea what these projects cost, which appears to be the line Sitoy is angling to pursue. But to me, as a peace-loving, law-abiding and diligent taxpayer who is entitled to know where my taxes go, I have no problem with expenditures whose benefits are unquantifiable.
You just cannot put a price tag in the promotion of Cebu as a concept. Cebu is an idea that these projects try to make others embrace. We are selling ourselves, and you cannot put a monetary value on that.
If Sitoy tries to put a price on that — like saying Cebu is only worth, maybe, twenty pesos to promote — I am pretty sure he will face a backlash the likes of which he has never seen before.
I am a Cebuano right down to the core of my being. And yet I must admit there is so much about Cebu — its people, history, culture, and sites — that, for a variety of reasons, has eluded my knowledge.
There are towns I have never been to, stories I have never heard of real people and real incidents, food I have never tasted or wondered how they were made — these are gaps in my being that have been filled by these programs.
Perhaps I will never be able to visit the towns I have never been to, or see the places and artifacts that bind historical figures to the heritage that make me the Cebuano that I am. But because of these programs, I am nevertheless fulfilled.
It is a fulfillment that makes me no stranger to my own land. And it gives me great pride and satisfaction to be able to tell myself that, at least, I have gained through these programs more than just a passing knowledge of my Cebu. And I can’t allow Sitoy to take that away from me.
It gives me great pride and satisfaction to be able to tell myself that, at least, I have gained through these programs more than just a passing knowledge of my Cebu.