The costly aspect of social justice

It is difficult for local government units to approximate the democratic, nay, socialistic, principle of social justice. In its original concept formulated in Calalang versus Williams which is "the humanization of laws and the equalization of social and economic forces" cities and municipalities find social justice very burdensome task to do. And achieving this objective, now a constitutional mandate, is made more onerous by the acts and omissions of the very sector for whose benefit this principle was written.

Let us try to simplify this issue by taking, as example, the informal settlers residing along river banks and other natural waterways found in cities. Many of them are not original city dwellers. Attracted by the glitters of urban life and lured by the prospect of working in a more comfortable atmosphere than tilling the farmlands, they come from neighboring islands. When they set foot here, most of them discover that work is not easy to find, compounded by the fact that they do not have a place to reside or even a roof to stay under.

Driven by dire need, they have to put up shelters on land they do not own. And where can they find such vacant space? Along the river banks? Elected government leaders, conscious of the voting blocs coming from these settlers, do not mind the illegal encroachment. They know that it is unlawful for anyone to put up structures on the legal easements of waterways yet, officials, in the noble name of compassion, tolerate this incursion. Anyway, this is but temporary!

Unfortunately, there, on these banks, the numbers of informal settlers grow in quantum leap. While on a day we find only temporary sticks holding up, as roofing, cardboards, used plywood sheets and even tarpaulin, for but one family, these become, in a short span of time, concrete walls and stronger posts supporting galvanized iron roofing for hundreds of families. These shelters are no longer temporary housing. The settlers have become permanent residents in the area.   Recently, on the Mandaue City side of the Mahiga River, the homes of informal settlers have to be demolished. The higher demand of public safety and the ends of general welfare call for such a difficult, others call it inhuman, action. The city, in its effort to approximate social justice had to fork a huge amount of money. Disturbance fee or relocation fee, however one calls it is the order of the day. It is good that the Honorable Mayor Luigi Quisumbing has dug deep into his heart to allocate funds for the settlers where he needed not.

Why do I say that? When, decades ago, a family head started erecting a house on the banks of Mahiga River, he should have been stopped by government authorities. The law against encroachment on riverbanks should have been enforced and upheld. It would have been easy for the abortive settler to accept the awesome weight of the law. He would have understood that structures on the banks of rivers were disallowed because of the massive dangers to the public posed by impediments of the flow of water.

It is late what the Mandaue City is doing but it is still most welcome. The cost of providing a relocation site for the displaced setters is, at present, enormous. I also understand that the city government is providing initial building materials to affected families. But because they are supposedly marginalized members of our society, there is the burden on the part of the city to humanize the laws by providing them sites to relocate to and place to build their homes on. Mayor Quisumbing is handling this aspect of social justice very well. Congratulations to him.

Sad to say, the objective of Mayor Quisumbing, to clear the Mahiga River of obstacles and prevent floods, is not that achievable. There are still hundreds of houses belonging to informal settlers on the Cebu City side of the river. When houses built on the side of Cebu City impede the water, water will back flow to the unimpeded lower level of Mandaue City. Rather than achieving the goal of flood-free Mandaue City, the bigger volume of waters, will rampage on the other parts of that city.

Perhaps, his honor Cebu City Mayor Tomas R. Osmeña, should do his share of clearing the Mahiga River of informal settlers. It might be costly but if there is a person with a more cost effective way of approximating the spirit of social justice, Mayor Osmeña is.