No to scholarships, yes to city college

The Honorable Cebu City Councilor Alvin Arcilla must have in mind the hope Dr. Jose Protacio Mercado Rizal Alonzo y Realonda pinned on the Filipino youth. Was it not that while Dr. Rizal was still an 18-year-old student of the University of Santo Tomas, he wrote in his poem “To The Filipino Youth” the following glittering words “bella esperanza de la patria mia”? Councilor Arcilla, who at some time many years ago, helped me in my political excursion, sponsored a measure which intended to provide scholarships to certain group of students. To the honorable councilor for the youth to approximate being the “fair hope of the fatherland” they should be equipped with knowledge, critical thinking skills, and understanding of civic duties. Indeed, an educated citizenry is a boon to the country. His proposed resolution, needless to say, was in that direction.

I learned that in last Tuesday’s session of the Cebu City Council, a majority of Councilor Arcilla’s fellow sanggunian members did not agree in the way he proposed scholarships for certain students. Their perception was different. The majority of the oppositors apparently thought that while the idea seemed good, the measure was anchored on legally-questionable foundation. It was, to them, wrapped in immoral suasion. Murmurs of the city’s funds being proposed to be channeled to a favored institution could be heard. So, the democratic principle of the rule of the majority rejected the Arcilla resolution.

The scene was sad but from my point, it was not irremediable. Silver linings, so to speak. The facts cited by both sides are fundamentally clear. As Councilor Arcilla viewed it and impliedly in Rizal’s dream, the city has the responsibility to provide good education to its residents. The councilor thought of scholarships and apparently, there were available funds to back up the program. He had the support of some sanggunian members. But, those who opposed him (did I hear the loud voice of Honorable Councilor Pastor Alcover Jr.?) talked about “conflict of interest” a very sensitive issue to politicians! So, it seemed that were it not for legal and moral angles, he would have voted for providing education to the young.

Arcilla’s measure, on one hand, was based on good perception although he might have unconsciously fallen into some pit dug by the theory that pronounces that “the road to hell is paved with good intentions.” But Alcover’s position, on the other hand, was tenable even if his stand tended to run smack against the “general welfare clause” of our laws. Unfortunately, both positions come from adversarial concepts such that if pursued to their logical ends nothing can come out positively.

The city needs to push Arcilla’s idea but remove Alcover’s intransigence. To reconcile, why not the two of them meet and discuss the possibility of operationalizing the Cebu City College? I remember that my lady Carmen, when she was a councilor, filed a proposed ordinance creating the Cebu City College. Whatever merits her proposal had were rejected by the majority. Sounds like what happened to the Arcilla measure! However, after Carmen’s stint, the city ordinance measure was revived and eventually approved.

That is the point where both Honorable Alvin and Honorable Jun meet. They have to blunt the sharp edges of their arguments and agree on a happy compromise by finally opening the city college, funding it appropriately and admitting far more number of students than a limited scholarship program earlier envisioned by Arcilla.