THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT AS AGENT OF CHANGE

by Mayor Celestino E. Martinez Jr.

George Hoffman used to say that no one person can change the world but that you can change the world for one person. I remember this saying well each time I assess the progress of the many big projects I have long dreamed for our beloved city. Together with Vice-Mayor Santiago Sevilla and the other officials I dream of the New Business District as the epicenter of progress and development in northern Cebu; the Special Economic Zone as another major hub of light to medium industries in the province; the expanded Polambato Port as major gateway to the country’s nautical highway and Bogo’s main portal as logistics distribution center of the Visayas region; the proposed Banakod Eco-Park as the new centerpiece in our quest to make Bogo a major player in the tourism industry;and the construction of agribusiness infrastructures to make our city an important contributor to the country’s effort at food sufficiency. It might be added that the end goal of all these is actually to improve the quality of life of everybody in the city in a grand way.

Sad to say, the mere shaping of these dreams alone into workable concepts and blueprints already takes so much time and money. Anyway, Rome was not built in a day, thus, we can be forgiven if many of our dreams have not yet turned into full reality. 

We can honestly say, though, that all of the above dreams are works in progress. But while waiting for the ultimate development dream pie to be baked, government must continue with its humdrum tasks that enable the constituents to live better lives each day. Collecting taxes, sweeping the streets, taking the sludge out of canals, keeping the traffic flowing and safe, keeping the local library newsstand updated, stacking the clinic with much needed gauze or medicines, turning on the faucets or the lights; in other words, keeping the hum of ordinary government machinery alive is also what local governance is all about. Yet, these are tasks that by their very ordinariness too often escape the eye.

Thus, it is along this line that I am happy to report that one small ordinary thing the City Government has done in cooperation with one barangay, has changed the lives of a few hardworking constituents who used to make their living pushing carts and selling barbecue on the streets. Theirs is a success story made possible by their desire to live life well and by the earnest effort of the local government to help them in any small way it can. By selling reasonably priced, clean and delicious grilled stuff at the BBQ Plaza, the vendors have become partners in promoting Bogo as a wholesome place to go

We may never know how much they are earning today compared to those times when they were still pushing carts but we can be sure their income now are much better. The government has been making sure of that by keeping the barbecue garden clean and beautiful and by supporting the vendors with regular activities that would tend to attract more people to the place.

And as final note I would like to thank former San Vicente barangay captain Virginia Rodrigo for having the courage and determination to push through with a difficult project and later allowing its use for the city government so that more people may benefit from it. It is a story of cooperation that hopefully will turn into a tradition. For in our beloved city we have inherited a lot of prideful traditions, and it is never a bad thing to add more good ones to those we already have.

Who knows the next one might just help turn one of our big dreams into reality one fine day.

source: cityofbogocebu.gov.ph