Cebu City not an administrative part of Cebu Province

When I began thinking what to write in this column today, I planned to wean my mind from the raging political turmoil fiercely waged by what we know as BBM and DDS. The relentless moves of DDS to grab power from BBM is, to me, the worst disservice to our countrymen. I have shared here the revelation of Senator Panfilo Lacson that he was approached to join a civilian-military junta although he reportedly didn’t even answer it. I’m worried by these destabilization efforts and I don’t want to write anything about it. To help me explore what topic to write about, I listened to Frank Sinatra vinyls in my small collection. The lyrics of his song “Cycles” gave a heart-calming message. He sang “There isn't much that I have learned. Through all my foolish years. Except that life keeps runnin' in cycles.” These words embolden me go completely off-tangent today.

In our elementary school in Candijay, Bohol, our Social Studies teacher told us that the capital of the province was Tagbilaran, then just a municipality and not yet a city. We also learned from our intellectually-profound teacher, Mr. Dominador Pizaña, now in heaven, that Cebu City was, as it still is, the capital of Cebu Province. The iconic Cebu Provincial Capitol Building, where Governor Pamela Baricuatro runs her administration, is in the heart of Cebu City. Naturally, all provincial administrative government officers and the members of province’s legislative branch, Sangguniang Panlalawigan, hold office in this city.

A political anomaly stares at us and we aren’t even blinking. I have heard none of our brilliant leaders talk about it philosophically, at least. There’s no whimper coming from our learned Cebuanos on this characterization. This political anomaly is described in the statute books as a highly-urbanized city. The least I know of a highly-urbanized city is that it’s a local government unit with a minimum population of 200,000 and an annual income of at least ?50 million. From such standard qualification, adopted sometime in 1991 or over three decades ago, such city is made autonomous from province. Sa Binisaya pa, walay labot ang atong ciudad sa probinsiya and vice-versa. Certainly, Cebu City, with a population of about a million people and with income in billions of pesos is denominated and classified as a highly-urbanized city.

What’s the most glaring and highly-anomalous effect of the city’s being described as highly-urbanized is that Cebu City, while geographically located almost at the dead center of Cebu Island is administratively not a part of the province. Look at it this way. The distance from Cebu City towards Daanbantayan, the northern most part of Cebu Island, is about 120 kilometers. This is just about the same distance from Cebu City towards the southernmost town of Samboan. Yet, in the governance of the province, our city isn’t a factor. This theory, in my mind, defies logic. The recent natural calamities proved this weird and unintelligent point. Didn’t the floodwaters that ravaged Cotcot, Liloan town, come from the bowels of Barangay Lusaran in Cebu City. How about the floods that swept away hundreds of homes in Talisay City? Didn’t the waters pass thru the river basin in Cebu City’s barangay Buot Taup?

Economically speaking, can the businesses in the component cities and towns in Cebu province flourish without sourcing their materials from establishments in Cebu City?

Whatever government programs and policies ideal to govern the Cebu Province must somehow be influenced by Cebu City residents. The converse relation is true. But even in that relationship, there is this anomalous part that the voters of Cebu City aren’t allowed to vote for elective provincial officers. Cebu Governor Pam Baricuatro isn’t a governor of the province’s capital which is Cebu City! This situation needs to be revisited.