Taxing demands of running for council
Not many of us have ideas how difficult it is to run for a seat in the City Council. Really, it is a demanding undertaking beyond imagination. Physically, it is extremely exhausting because a candidate's day commences in the very early morning and ends up late in the evening. He hits the barangays, at the break of the sun, to embark on a house-to-house campaign, His objective? To shake as many potential voters' hand as he can in the hope that they will remember him at the polls. Obviously, this method of campaigning cannot be done with the candidate's riding a vehicle. He has to walk.
When a candidate caps his day's sorties with "pulong-pulongs" that last deep into the night, he also walks a major part of the way. It must be understood that many of these public meetings are held in the inner portions of the city access to which is only by foot.
The economic factor of a candidacy for city councilor is even more mind-boggling. Let us take his transportation needs, for one. Mobility is important for it spells the ability of the candidate to reach as many electors in the quickest time possible. We should remember that visibility at almost the same time in distant sitios also counts. Most, if not all, City Council aspirants have to maintain a fleet of vehicles for himself and for his staff. These transportation units have to be in good running condition or the candidate's campaign get literally bogged down.
Now, why do I write about the physical and financial aspects of a person's sally into an elections for City Council? This is a commentary on the report about the plan of the administration of his honor Cebu City Mayor Michael L. Rama to buy millions upon millions worth of motor vehicles.
The city does not have to buy transportation units for the use of the members of the Sangguniang Panlungsod. It is unnecessary for the city to provide our councilors with motor vehicles. Whatever fund maybe allocated for this purpose may better be used for other projects. It is good that the news reports have not mentioned anything about providing the councilors with a new set of vehicles. Or otherwise, the amount needed by the city administration can be disturbing.
If I remember correctly, in the first term of Mayor Rama as our city chief executive, his administration bought expensive SUV's for the city councilors and the chairmen of the 80 barangays. Easily, that cost the city a hundred million pesos. It is good that the use of the councilors' vehicles was transferred to the present local legislators at the beginning of their term of the present sanggunian,
Having said that, let me suggest to the honorable mayor that he should consider selling the expensive vehicles now assigned to the city councilors. The city does not have to provide need them with such luxury. Our aldermen have vehicles of their own. In fact, most of them possess better units.
Selling the city-owned vehicles that are now assigned to the councilors brings many advantages.
First. It generates additional money to buy the equipment most needed by the city to deliver basic services. Few weeks ago, the City Council debated on the proposal to lease heavy equipment needed to clean the waterways. There was no question that it was a priority matter considering our complaint of ever recurring flash floods. I would not discount the possibility that the cost of the lease weighed heavily upon the majority of the councilors to vote against it. Why not sell the city-owned cars they are now enjoying and on use the proceeds to buy the equipment they would not want the city to lease?
Second. The cost of maintaining these vehicles, if quantified, is big. Most car owners can attest to this. Fuel alone can run into hundreds of thousands, monthly. And there are enumerable other maintenance expenses to pay for.
Of course, the councilors will howl. Why take away from them a useful and necessary tool for governance? Why? It is because when they ran for their positions, they did not even hint to us that they would add to the fleet they used in campaigning city-owned vehicles. The truth is that these transportation units serve nothing more as identifying marks of their prominence than an accessory to public service.
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